


Strange Overtones

by morningoceanmist



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan, The Trials of Apollo - Rick Riordan
Genre: Canon Compliant, Exploration of identity, Friendship, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Multi, Sibling Bonding, aka i’m actually going to address nico’s trauma and the way he’s been treated, art therapy u know, backstory for will because we never got one, mostly just the aftermath of it, mostly lol, nico and hazel struggle to adapt to the modern world, nico likes to draw, some strong language, will has a very complicated relationship with his mortal family/life, will has plague powers because i said so, will is good with a gun. that will be relevant at some point
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-22
Updated: 2021-01-30
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:21:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 19,395
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27671954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/morningoceanmist/pseuds/morningoceanmist
Summary: Healing is not a linear process, as Nico will learn. For every two steps forward, you’ll take one step back. Nico is sick of being taken advantage of, afraid of being abandoned, and never seems to be free of his tendency to fall victim to others’ manipulation and maltreatment.Will’s repressed emotions will threaten to get the best of him. Beneath his calm and friendly façade is someone hardened by guilt, a fear of inadequacy, and a deep-seated resentment for the people who have let him down.Growing up is a journey. You will struggle with your identity, your relationships, and your values. As children thrown to the wolves before you were ready to defend yourselves, as children scarred so deeply both inside and out, you will find that taking comfort in others can sometimes be the key to ultimately finding contentment with who you are.No journey is meant to be travelled alone.
Relationships: Nico di Angelo/Will Solace
Comments: 53
Kudos: 147





	1. three days in the infirmary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> nico is hospitalized because he doesn’t pass his vibe check

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this story so far is canon compliant, minus a couple things:  
> •nico’s confession to percy. why? because it was BAD. i’m redoing it sometime later in this story, so you’ll notice i left it out here.  
> •jason is not going to die. he and piper will still break up, but i’m thinking of adding some minor valgrace into this fic  
> •i don’t like the way hazel and piper are described to look in the books... so in this fic hazel has black hair and brown eyes. piper has brown eyes as well and doesn’t wear feathers
> 
> also is this fic named after one of my favorite songs? yes, yes it is. listen to strange overtones by david byrne & bryan eno

“You owe me at least three days of rest in the infirmary. Starting now.” Will Solace fixed his gaze upon Nico, who looked away. Nico had always hated eye contact, but Will’s gaze was especially difficult to hold. There was a strange intensity in his eyes that Nico couldn’t place, and it made him nervous. The healer also refused to flinch or falter under Nico’s glare, and that was strange as well.

The dark-haired boy fiddled with the silver skull ringer on his finger. “Three days?” he asked. “I—I suppose that would be okay.”

“Good. Now come with me.” Will turned and headed toward the infirmary. Nico hesitated a moment, then sighed and quietly followed.

The infirmary was bustling. The kids from the Apollo cabin were decked out in makeshift hospital gear as they rushed around like busy squirrels. Nico suddenly felt overwhelmed.  
“Are you sure I need to be here? Your cabin seems overworked as it is.” He said to Will.

Will rolled his eyes. “You’re not getting out of this. Sure, we’re busy, but we take in patients whether we’re busy or not.” The blond stated bluntly. “I’m going to set you up in a bed away from the all the major commotion. It won’t be quiet, it never is in here. But, it’ll be private.”

Nico appreciated that. He certainly couldn’t imagine getting much rest with people breathing down his neck at all times.

Will pulled back a hospital curtain, exposing a small, makeshift room with a bed and a side table. It had curtains all around, and was off in a corner, so it offered good privacy. Thank the gods. Nico did not want to see the strange and judgmental looks people would no doubt be giving him while he was here.  
“Wait here, I’m going to grab you some new clothes. Yours are filthy.” Without waiting for a response, the healer dashed off. Nico self-consciously looked down at his shirt.

Nico sat down on the edge of the hospital bed. While he could still hear the busy activity of the infirmary, it was muffled inside his little room. Quiet enough, he supposed. Total silence was unsettling, anyway.

Will returned, holding a purple T-shirt and a pair of black sweatpants. “These are Kayla’s. She’s my sister. You two are around the same size, so they’ll probably fit fine. She never wears ‘em anyway.”

  
Nico took the clothes from him. “Thanks.” He muttered.

Will offered a small smile. “Get changed. I’ll be back in a bit. I need to grab a few things.” Without waiting for a reply, he was off again.

  
Nico slipped on the clothes he was given, and piled the old ones at the foot of his bed. Kayla’s clothes were fairly comfortable. Nico decided she had good taste.

Nico settled into the bed just as he heard Will’s voice from behind the curtain. “You dressed yet?”  
“Yeah.” Nico replied. The curtain was yanked open and the blond healer stepped in, carrying a satchel.  
“Okay. For starters, I need to take care of those scratches on your arm. How did you even get those? They look awful.”  
“Don’t pick fights with werewolves.” Nico shrugged. “Huge claws, and all.”

Will looked miffed at his attitude. “Oh, sure, just a werewolf. No big deal.” He mumbled, half to himself. “I’m going to take the old stitches out, clean the wounds, and put in new stitches. I’m not gonna lie, it’ll hurt.”

Nico huffed. “It’s fine. Nothing I’m not used to.”  
Will sighed. “That’s kind of the problem here, di Angelo. The goal is to not have stuff like this be ‘what you’re used to.’” Will pulled up a chair to the side of the bed and sat down. Then he placed a large, gentle hand on Nico’s arm. He pulled a small pair of surgical scissors from his satchel and began carefully cutting away at the stitches.

“I’m sure a lecture on is the last thing you want to hear, but honestly, I don’t really care. You’re in awful shape. You look exhausted, you’re covered in wounds, and you’re far too thin. I know that you haven’t been eating well for the past several years. Sorry to say, but that’s likely the reason you’re so small. Severe malnutrition during childhood will stunt your growth. I doubt you’ll get any taller.” Will sounded concerned, but also exasperated.

“Lay off.” Nico hissed. “It’s none of your business. I don’t need you telling me things I already know.”

Will glanced up from his stitching, looking apologetic. “I wasn’t trying to insult you. There’s nothing wrong with the way you look. I’m just concerned.”

Nico stayed silent.

Will finished pulling out Reyna’s haphazard stitches. He proceeded to clean the scratches with gauze soaked in alcohol, which caused Nico to flinch. It burned badly.

“Sorry. I don’t want these to get infected. Relax for me, okay?” Will spoke gently.  
Nico found himself soothed by the healer’s voice. It was deep and calm. He understood why Will had so much success in calming even the most volatile people down—his presence was oddly comforting.

Nico barely noticed as Will finished cleaning his scratches and closed them up with new stitches. His eyelids were growing heavy; he supposed sitting in an actual bed was reminding him of the exhaustion he truly felt. He hadn’t slept well for a long time.

“Okay, all finished. Try not to pull these out. I think they should be left in for about a week.”  
Will patted his shoulder. “I brought you something to help you sleep, and to ease some of the pain from those scratches.” He pulled a bottle from his satchel, removed one white tablet, and handed it to Nico. The dark-haired boy examined the tablet briefly before swallowing it. He’d welcome any sleep aid. Maybe it would keep nightmares away.

“So,” Will began, with an expression that told Nico he was about to ask something serious, “I’m glad you’ve decided to stay at camp. Good to know I could get through that thick skull of yours.”

Nico bristled. “I’m—I’m not staying because you told me to! Don’t talk to me like that.”  
God, Nico was appalled at how this guy could go from gentle and calming to assertive and in-your-face in a matter of seconds.

Will shrugged. “Whatever the reason. Look, I wasn’t lying before, Nico. There are people here who would like to be your friend, if you’d let them.”

Nico snorted. “Sure. I’m sure whispering about me behind my back and telling me I wasn’t wanted here was everyone’s strange way of saying they all wanted to be best friends.” Nico found himself suddenly getting riled up at the way Will had spoken to him during the battle. “Next time it happens, I’ll be sure to remind myself of that, and _get my head out of my brooding cloud._ ”

Will looked mildly surprised and even a bit guilty. “I didn’t... I didn’t mean it like that. Look, I’m sorry. I only wanted you to know that there is a place for you here. I know many people here have not treated you kindly, and frankly, that’s their problem and their loss.” Will paused. “I guess I was referring to myself, mostly. I would like to be your friend, Nico.”

Nico felt his face redden. “I, um, okay.” He looked down at his hands, suddenly feeling anxious.“I’m not really good at making friends. So I guess part of it is my fault.”

Will bumped his shoulder. “Hey, don’t do that. You don’t have to ‘good’ at making friends for me to like you. And you shouldn’t have to be for anyone else. I shouldn’t have said that to you.”

Nico nodded absently. He had started leaning into Will and was having trouble keeping his eyes open. Whatever sleep aid he’d taken was starting to work. He felt Will’s strong arm wrap around his shoulders and lay him down on the bed.  
“Get some sleep, I’ll check on you when you wake up.” Will murmured.

Nico fell asleep, and it was dreamless.

━━━━━━━━━━━━

When Nico woke, light was pooling into the infirmary from the windows. He stretched and yawned, still feeling surprisingly groggy. He supposed one good night’s rest didn’t make up for the many he’d missed out on lately.

Nico threw his blanket aside and stepped out of bed. He felt antsy and in need of a shower, so he decided to head to his cabin. He imagined no one would notice if he slipped away for a bit.

He was wrong, though. On his way out of the infirmary, he heard Will’s familiar voice. “Oi, death boy. Where do you think you’re going?”  
Nico glared at him, which didn’t deter the taller boy in the slightest.  
“I just want to take a shower at my cabin. I’ll be back.”  
“Yeah, no offense, but I don’t really trust you. Plus, you still look exhausted.” He ran a hand through his blond hair. “Okay, you can go to your cabin, on the condition that I go with you.”  
“What? No! Why?” Nico sputtered.  
“One, because I’ve never seen your cabin before. Two, I want to make sure you don’t pass out in the shower.” There was a teasing glint in his blue yes.

  
Nico sighed. “ _Fine_.”

━━━━━━━━━━━━

“Hm. Cheery.” Will noted when they stepped inside Nico’s cabin.  
“I warned you. It’s awful.” Nico mumbled.  
“I dunno, it sure fits your goth aesthetic.” Will said, shooting him a grin.

“Hmph.” Nico headed towards his bathroom. “I won’t be long.” He promised.

“No rush, really. I’m not in a hurry to get back to the infirmary. I’ve been stuck working there for days. At least it’s finally starting to slow down.”

The shower felt nice. Nico couldn’t remember the last time he’d gotten the chance to take one. After the shower, he changed back into the clothes Will had stolen from his sister. He didn’t have anything else, aside from the dirty and bloody clothes he’d left back i. the infirmary. Those were as good as trashed, anyway. He’d have to find some new clothes at some point.

He stepped back out into the cabin, where Will was sitting on the edge of his bed. Will smiled at him.  
“Great. While we’re out, let’s grab some food at the dining pavilion. Then you need to get some more rest.” He stood up and gestured for Nico to follow.

Nico hesitated. “I don’t like eating in the dining pavilion.” He hated sitting alone at his table, seeing the way people would cast uneasy glances and exchange whispers about him. He preferred to avoid it altogether.

Will looked unbothered. “We can eat outside the infirmary, then.”

Nico sighed, but didn’t really feel like arguing. He followed Will to the pavilion. Will grabbed some sort of sandwich and chips, while Nico opted for some fruit and a granola bar.

They walked over to a large tree that loomed over the infirmary, and sat on the ground beneath it. Will leaned back against the tree and took a bite of his food. Nico followed suit, and they ate in comfortable silence.

Until Nico heard a familiar laugh that caused him to flinch. Percy stood outside his cabin, an arm around Annabeth, chatting with Jason. The three were engaged in conversation, bright smiles upon their faces.

Nico hated the unwelcome, yet oh-so-familiar jealousy that seeped into him. It had been  _years_ now, and Nico knew Percy had eyes for no one but Annabeth.

So, why did it still hurt? 

He looked away when Percy laughed at something Annabeth said, then swooped down to give her a kiss on the cheek.

_ Percy doesn’t care about you. _ He reminded himself.  _ Why would he? You’ve been nothing but a burden to him. _

However, more than anything, Nico still desperately wanted Percy to like him. 

Nico pushed his food away as a wave of nausea washed over him.

“Hey,” Will’s voice broke into his thoughts. “What’s wrong?”

Nico felt panicked. “Nothing. I just—I’m not hungry. Can I leave?”

Will eyed him suspiciously. “Okay. Let’s head back to the infirmary.” He stood up and offered a hand to Nico, who ignored it.

Back in the infirmary, Nico snuggled down under his covers. He’d barely closed his eyes when Will asked, “So, you going to tell me what that was about?” 

The truth was certainly not something Nico cared to share, so he opted to be vague and defensive.  
“I just want to sleep. Leave me alone.” Nico grumbled. Will narrowed his eyes.  
“ _Now_ you want to sleep? Fine, if you don’t wanna talk about it, I won’t make you.”  
Will looked angry, but he took a deep breath and turned back to Nico, his gaze softening a bit. “Do you want me to leave?”

Nico was tempted to blurt out a reflexive ‘yes, I want to be alone,’ but stopped himself. Annoying as the healer could be, Nico didn’t necessarily want him to leave. Will was actually _nice_ to Nico, and he actually tried to talk to him. Nico shook his head.  
“You—you don’t have to. But you can, if you want to. Um, I’m sure you have other things to do.”

Will was giving him a strange look. He leaned forward, his sharp blue eyes boring into Nico’s dark brown ones.  
“Do _you_ want me to? That’s what I’m asking. I don’t want you to say what you think I want to hear.” His voice was lower than usual, something that seemed to happen when he was very serious.

Nico shrugged and looked away.  
“No, I guess not. I don’t mind being around you.”

Will raised a brow. “Well, I’ll take what I can get.”

They spent the next hour or so just talking. Nico wanted to avoid talking about himself, and Will seemed to sense that, so he humored Nico and they talked about other things. Nico learned that Will liked playing basketball. Will said that it was his one of his only skills, besides healing, that indicated he was a son of Apollo. Nico figured the fact that Will was stupidly tall probably helped with that.

Then one of Will’s siblings had interrupted.  
“Will!” A tall blond boy with brown eyes popped his head into the room. Nico did not recognize him. “I need you to help me with something. I’ve been looking for you for ages. You don’t get to slack off. C’mon.”  
Then the unfamiliar boy left, grumbling to himself.

Will grinned to himself. “Sorry, looks like I’m needed elsewhere.” He stood up from the side of the bed where he’d been sitting. “Get some sleep, death boy. I’ll visit you again tomorrow.”

Nico watched him leave, wondering why he felt disappointed. Sighing, he flopped backwards into his pillow and closed his eyes, exhaustion washing over him in waves. He couldn’t help but feel happy that Will had promised to come back tomorrow. Maybe he could get used to having the son of Apollo around.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is the first fanfic i’ve ever written! i’ve been wanting to write a solangelo fic for a long time. these boys mean a lot to me. i’m hoping to turn this into a fairly long fic. i’ve got a lot of ideas for future plot points! there will be chapters from both nico and will’s povs, and i’ve got a lot of plans for will’s backstory. hope you guys will like it! i think i’ll try posting a new chapter each week.
> 
> also, something i wanted to include because it didn’t really get discussed in full detail in the books. i personally can’t imagine Nico getting much taller than like 5’4-5’6, because people were way shorter in the 30s than they are now AND because he was seriously malnourished during childhood. starvation for a long period of time while you’re still growing will damage your growth permanently. i’ve never liked that some people ignored this in favor of having nico get like weirdly hot. stuff like this has permanent effects, and there’s nothing wrong with that. you can still get better after trauma and live a good life even if your body is ‘damaged’. sometimes recovery isn’t physical, idk what to tell you. i also imagine that nico deals with a lot of chronic pain and fatigue due to this and his powers, which is another thing often overlooked.


	2. do you think we could be friends?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> hmm maybe having friends is nice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hell yea chapter 2. next chapter is going to be from will’s pov get ready i’ve got so many ideas for that boy

Nico’s second night in the infirmary was not as restful as his first. He woke up dazed and confused several times throughout the night, each time with cold sweat on his skin and a sick feeling that something awful had happened. He heard loud whispers when he first woke, and froze immediately. He tried to listen to what they said, but couldn’t make out any words. He shut his eyes tight and curled underneath his covers until the noises faded. He was unsure if they were auditory hallucinations or real people merely chatting within the infirmary. This was not an uncommon occurrence; sometimes Nico couldn’t remember his dreams, and only woke with the sickly feelings of dread they left behind. When this happened, he often heard or saw strange things right when he awoke. He would lie awake for a bit afterwards, disoriented and unable to return to sleep. 

The dark-haired boy was still awake when the sun began to rise. It might have been pretty, really, in all its soft golden glory, had Nico actually gotten a decent night’s rest. Now he just felt groggy and cranky.

People were beginning to stir within the infirmary. The subtle noise was calming. 

However, Nico felt anxious. He was antsy from laying in bed, unable to fall asleep. He was tired, but his brain just wouldn’t slow down. 

He spotted a pen lying on the bedside table. Will must’ve left it there yesterday. Nico picked up and, shrugging, began to doodle on his arm. He needed to do  _ something,_ or he was going to lose his mind.

He’d covered his entire forearm in ink doodles by the time Will came to visit him as he’d promised.

“Wow!” Will said, plopping down in the chair beside the bed. “Didn’t know you were an artist.”

“I’m not. I just got bored.” Nico replied.

“Well, those drawings are nice.” Will said. Nico glanced down at his arm; he’d drawn an array of random greek symbols, flowers and leaves, and a small doodle of a black dog. It was originally going to be Cerberus, but Nico hadn’t wanted to draw three heads. He didn’t think the drawings were all that great. 

“How about I get you a pencil and some actual paper, though?” Will continued. “If you need something to do so badly.”

“Sure, I guess. I would like that.” Nico glanced up at the blond. “Thank you.”

Will grinned. It was slightly crooked, kind of like Percy’s, but different at the same time. Will’s smile was gentler and kinder.

“Great. But first, I’m going to coerce you into eating some breakfast.” Will pulled a chocolate bar out of his pocket. “Stole this from Cecil this morning. He’s going to be  _ pissed._”

Nico vaguely remembered Cecil from several days ago. He was one of Will’s best friends, along with Lou Ellen. The trio had been scouting when Nico had accidentally stumbled across them. Cecil and Lou Ellen had seemed nice, at least for the brief time Nico had interacted with them.

“Chocolate for breakfast? Aren’t you technically a doctor?” Nico tilted his head. “Shouldn’t you be offering me something healthy?”

Will rolled his eyes. “You’d be surprised how many doctors just say ‘fuck it’ in some situations. Plus, what fun would I be if I only ever offered you salads?” The blond chuckled.

“If you’ll just eat  _ something _ , I’m going to count that as a success.”

Nico sighed and took the chocolate bar. He peeled wrapper back and took a bite. “Happy?” he asked.

“Ecstatic.” Will ran a hand through his shaggy blond hair. The guy seriously looked straight out of a surfer movie.

“Anyway, I need to get another look at your stitches. Gotta make sure they’re healing properly. Give me your arm.” Will ordered. Nico complied. His large, slightly calloused hands were warm on Nico’s arm, causing him to shiver. He hadn’t realized he was so cold.

“These look good. Provided you don’t do anything stupid for the next couple of weeks, they’ll heal nicely.” Will released his hold on Nico’s arm. “How are you feeling today? You look tired.”

Nico shrugged. “Didn’t sleep so well last night. I’m fine, really. It happens all the time.”

Will pinched the bridge of his nose. “Again, the point is for this to  _ not  _ ‘happen all the time’.” 

“I’m sorry.” Nico replied, his gaze falling to the floor. Will gave him a strange look.

“Don’t apologize. It’s not your fault. I’m just concerned.” He leaned back in his chair. “Why  can’t you sleep?”

_ ‘I hear and see strange things when it’s dark and quiet, plus I get nightmares’  _ was absolutely  _ not _ what Nico was going to tell Will.

“I don’t really know. I just wake up a lot during the night.” Nico said, shrugging. Will’s eyes narrowed and he could tell the blond did not believe him.

“It’s okay to need help and support, you know.” Will’s piercing blue eyes seemed to stare right through Nico. He stiffened. 

“I—I know that. I’m fine, I don’t need any of that.”

“You don’t need any support from others?” Will raised a brow.

“No, I mean, I’m doing fine. I don’t need help, I can handle things on my own.” Nico stammered.

“Are you sure you don’t think that just because you’ve  _ had _ to spend so long relying only on yourself that you’ve forgotten it’s okay to rely on someone else?” Will challenged.

Nico glared at him. He hated that Will was acting like he  _ knew _ him, like he  _ understood. _He hated the way Will’s word tugged at his heart painfully, reminding him how _alone_ he truly was.

“Think about it, okay?” Will stood up to leave. “I’ll be back later, and I’ll bring those art supplies.”

Nico sighed and slumped back into his pillow as Will left.

━━━━━━━━━━━━

As promised, Will returned later with an empty sketchbook of paper and a few pencils.

“Here.” He placed the items on the bedside table. “Draw to your heart’s content.”

“Thank you.” Nico placed the sketchbook in his lap and grabbed a pencil. He was about to start drawing when he realized Will hadn’t moved; he was still standing beside the bed, staring at Nico. 

“Are you just going to watch me?” Nico muttered, mild discomfort evident in his voice.

“Don’t perform well under pressure?” Will asked, a small smile on his face. “No, actually, I wanted to ask you something.”

Nico put his pencil down. “Okay.”He didn’t like how serious Will looked.

Will ran a hand through his shaggy hair. “Why did you avoid me after the battle? I know I may not be your best friend, but I can’t help the feeling that I did something to offend you, and you just won’t tell me.”

The smaller boy gaped at him. Will seriously thought _he_ had offended Nico? Nico had avoided Will because he’d been terrified that he’d scared off one of the first people to be kind towards him in awhile. Nico thought Will would hate him for essentially allowing Octavian to kill himself, and he’d opted to avoid the blond instead of being insulted or rejected. Turns out Will did not plan on doing so, but Nico hadn’t known that. 

“I didn’t avoid you because of anything  you did.” Nico looked down. “I thought you would hate me for... what happened with Octavian.”

He hugged himself. “I thought you’d realize I was a freak.”

Will studied him for a moment, his blue eyes calm. “Nico,” he began gently, “Octavian’s death was not  your fault. I was there was there, too. I could’ve stopped him, and I didn’t.”

“You wanted to.” Nico pointed out. “You were going to try.”

Will paused, before nodding thoughtfully “Maybe. Trying to save people is sort of a reflex for me, even if my heart isn’t really in it.” He sighed. “Listen. I’m not sure it was right for us to let him die. But, I don’t exactly think it was entirely wrong or malicious, either. In the end, Octavian was going to continue to cause problems and likely even kill people if he’d lived. Sometimes, the line between right and wrong is fuzzy, and there will never really be a clear answer.”

Will paused with a heavy sigh. “ I don’t really regret it. I’m not going to lose sleep over it. We were in the middle of a war. Truly, the only thing that matters to me is that Gaea didn’t win and I didn’t lose anyone I care about.”

Nico felt like he was seeing Will in a new light. The guy had gone through just as many wars as he had. He’d lost people he loved. He was the camp’s best combat medic: both a healer  and a fighter. Will was no stranger to death, loss, and making tough calls. 

It was a sad thought, but strangely, it made Nico feel less alone.

He looked back up at Will. “Thank you, for... understanding, I guess. I’m sorry for assuming things and avoiding you.”

Will smiled softly. “You apologize too much.”

“Sorry.” Nico mumbled. Will started to laugh. Nico groaned. “Shut up, it was a reflex.”

“I didn’t say anything.” Will assured, but his eyes glittered with mirth. “Alright, edgelord, I’ve gotta scram. Before I get in trouble for ‘slacking off ’  again. I’ll stop by again later tonight. I’ve got an idea to help you sleep.” The healer waved before ducking out from Nico’s room, as Nico sputtered and tried to shout, “don’t call me that!”

Suddenly feeling weirdly lonely, Nico grabbed the pencil and paper and began sketching to keep himself occupied. He internally thanked Will again; this was better than staring at the wall and slowly losing his shit. Bedrest was awfully dull when Will wasn’t here with him.

Not that he’d _ever_ tell Will that.

━━━━━━━━━━━━

Nico was halfway finished with a sketch of a black cat when he heard Will’s voice from outside his room.

“You decent?” Will asked from just outside the curtain. Nico rolled his eyes.

“Yes. You can come in.” He answered.

Will strolled into the room, carrying something in his hand. He glanced at Nico’s drawing.

“Nice cat. Are you a cat person?”

“Animals never seem to like me, except for some cats. Guess they don’t always mind my death aura. So, yeah, I suppose they’re my favorite animal.” Nico said.

“Makes sense, actually. You kind of remind of a cat. Plus, they love killing things, so I don’t think they’d find death off-putting.”

Nico frowned. “You prefer dogs, I’m guessing?”

Will chuckled. “I’m kidding, I like cats too. But if I  had to pick, then it’d probably be dogs.” Will held up the device he’d carried in with him. “I brought my ipod. Doesn’t seem to attract monsters the way cellphones do. I thought you might like to use it.” 

Nico raised an eyebrow at the small silver device in Will’s hand. Attached to it were white strings that reminded Nico vaguely of shoelaces. “What’s an ipod?” 

Will laughed, and Nico scowled at him. “Sorry.” Will snickered, not sounding sorry at all. “I forgot—you’re from the 1930s, aren’t you? I remember when you showed up to camp. The kid out of time. You really never bothered to catch up with what has changed, have you?”

“It’s not my fault! I never had time—“ Nico spat indignantly, before Will cut him off.

“I’m just teasing you. Here, I’ll show you how it works.” Will clicked a button that lit up the screen. He scrolled around on the screen for a few moments, then handed the weird white strings to Nico. “Put these in your ears.” He said.

Nico studied them for a moment, before figuring out how the strange things fit into his ears.

“Great. Now, I’m going to play you a song.” Will tapped on the screen once again, and music flooded into Nico’s eardrums.

Nico’s eyes widened. “This is cool! It’s like a radio inside my head.” He felt weirdly excited and intrigued. He tried to subdue himself. “The music is nice, too.”

Will was smiling at him, and there was a weird expression in his eyes. “I thought you’d like it. Billie Eilish seemed emo enough for you.”

“I’m not emo.” Nico grumbled.

“Sure.” Will said airily, rolling his eyes. “Anyway, you can keep this for tonight. Listening to music helps a lot of people sleep. Just scroll through all the songs and pick random ones. I’m sure you’ll find stuff you like.” The blond healer stretched and yawned.

“You should go to bed.” Nico suggested. Will looked exhausted. Nico suddenly felt guilty for taking up his time right now, when Will could be sleeping. Or hanging out with his friends. Or anything more fun than babysitting Nico.

“I’m going to, you hypocrite. Just one more thing— I’m technically supposed to ‘discharge’ you tomorrow. You do seem to be in mildly better shape, mostly because your werewolf scratches are healing properly. However, I don’t want that to mean you stop showing up. Do you wanna help me out in the infirmary tomorrow? That way I can keep an eye on you.”

The idea actually sounded okay. Nico was sick of laying in bed all day, but he didn’t necessarily want to stop hanging out with Will.

“Only tomorrow?” He asked, and wanted to punch himself when his voice came out whiny. He didn’t want to sound like he was desperate for more time with Will.

Will just smiled. “After that, most patients will be out of here. Sure, there’ll still be the odd injuries from training and whatnot, but I’ll have loads more free time. After tomorrow, we can hang out outside the infirmary.”

“You—you want to do that?” Nico asked.

“Of course I do. I told you, Nico, I want to be your friend. That would entail hanging out.”

Nico was blushing, but he he rolled his eyes. “Okay. Sure. I’ll help you tomorrow. And, um, I wouldn’t mind hanging out in the future, too.”

Will chuckled and ruffled Nico’s hair, prompting Nico to shove his arm away. “Don’t push it, Solace.” He hissed, but there was no venom behind it. 

Will made his way to the curtain shielding Nico’s room and pulled it away. He turned around once more before leaving. “Goodnight, Nico. Hope you’re ready for nurse duty in the morning, because I’m waking you up early.”

━━━━━━━━━━━━

Will was  not  lying. Nico found himself being woken up at around seven in the morning. He groaned and rolled over. 

“I’m honestly not much of a morning person either, di Angelo. Believe it or not. But you still have to wake up at a decent hour.” Will scoffed. Nico noticed he was holding a large thermos containing what smelled like straight black coffee. He supposed everyone had their own ways of dealing with mornings.

Will tossed a pair of gray scrubs into Nico’s bed. “You’re going to have to wear these.”

“What? Why? I’m not actually going to be healing people.” Nico protested.

“No, but if you’re working here, it’s protocol.”

Nico wasn’t sure he believed Will, since he was positive Will wore sandals quite often while working and those were certainly  not infirmary protocol.

“You sure you’re not just torturing me?” Nico wondered. Will grinned 

“Maybe a little. Now get dressed and get out here.”

After Will left to allow Nico privacy, he pulled on the scrubs. They were way too big. He awkwardly walked out of his room, where Will was waiting.

“These don’t fit me.” He stated obviously. Will looked him up and down. 

“Medium was the smallest size I could find. You’ll just have to deal.”

He gestured for Nico to follow him. “C’mon. I have some ideas to keep you busy.”

Nico sighed. No point in arguing, he supposed. At least the adjustable waist ties allowed him to stop the pants from falling off his hips. 

Will ended up showing Nico how to cut and prepare bandages, make IV flushes, and take an inventory of their supplies. While Nico worked, Will busied himself with paperwork. Occasionally he would leave to check on a patient.

Nico was busy checking the infirmary’s supply of medications when Will came up behind him. 

“Hey, how would you like to learn to put in a catheter? I’m going to get some fluids into this guy from the Athena cabin. He’s a bit dehydrated, and can’t keep water down. He’s not in critical condition or anything, so it’s a low pressure situation, so I thought it’d be a good chance to learn.”

The idea made Nico nervous, but Will looked excited. Nico could tell Will was passionate about what he did, and Nico didn’t want to dampen that. “Okay. I’ll try.”

Will led him to the room. The boy inside was tall and gangly, with light brown hair and gray eyes. Nico did not recognize him.

“Hey.” Will greeted. The boy smiled at Will and responded with a “hey, man.”

Then boy’s eyes narrowed when Nico entered the room behind Will.

“Why’s he here?” The son of Athena asked Will, giving Nico a look that was half angry, half nervous.

“Nico’s helping me out today. I was going to show him how to put in your catheter.” Will gave Nico a reassuring smile. “It’s always good to have as many people as we can with a bit of medical knowledge.”

Nico glanced nervously at Will. He could tell this guy didn’t like him. His suspicions were co firmed when the boy glared and jerked away. “Like  _ hell_! I’m not letting a Hades kid try to heal me.”

Nico knew the guy was just uncomfortable, but the words hurt.

Will stood in front of Nico.“Don’t be an asshole.” He snapped, then grabbed Nico by the arm and pulled him out of the room. “Someone else will come put in your damn catheter.” He growled back at the son of Athena.

Nico let Will pull him away. He tried to blink the threat of tears out of his eyes. He didn’t know why he cared what other people thought. He didn’t know why their hatred of him still hurt—he should be used to this by now. 

Will stopped and put an hand under Nico’s chin, forcing him to look up. “I’m sorry. He shouldn’t have said that to you. Trust me, I’m going to have some choice words with him later.”

Nico shook his head. “It’s fine, Will. This is just how it is. People don’t like me. I don’t exactly blame them. I’m not... I’m not easy to be around.”

“No, Nico. That is  not true. He was forming judgments, even though he doesn’t know you. Don’t bother with people like that.” Will placed a firm hand on Nico’s shoulder.

Nico gazed up at Will, feeling warmth bloom inside him. “I—thank you.” He looked down. “Thanks for being so nice to me.”

“It’s really not as hard as you think. You’re pretty easy to like.” Nico didn’t really believe that, but Will sounded genuine. Maybe Will just had very low standards for his friends.

The son of Apollo spoke again. “I think I’m just about done with the infirmary for today. Let’s go get some lunch.”

Nico felt relieved to escape the infirmary. He didn’t want to be near the Athena boy who seemingly hated his guts, or any other patients that likely felt the same. 

“Sure. Just let me change out of these scrubs. I look ridiculous.”

━━━━━━━━━━━━

The two boys ended up eating their lunch beside the lake. Nico hadn’t wanted to eat in the pavilion, and Will had opted to join him. They watched the subtle waves that the wind stirred up. 

“You ever want to try surfing sometime?” Will asked out of nowhere. Nico snorted. 

“Definitely not my thing. What, do  _ you _ surf?” Nico was mostly joking.

Will grinned widely. “I like to think I’m okay at it. Been surfing since I was little. Me and my friends from back home would go to the Gulf whenever we could. Not as crazy as surfing on an ocean, but it was still fun. The sound of waves just reminds me of that, I guess.” He paused. “I could teach you, if you wanted.”

The mental image of Will surfing made Nico blush. He did look like a surfer, with his shaggy blond hair, athletic build, and broad shoulders. Nico could begrudgingly admit to himself that Will was handsome. 

“I can’t even swim, so surfing is definitely out.” 

Will sputtered. “You can’t _swim_?”

“No? I never learned.” Nico realized Will was fighting a laugh. “Stop making fun of me!”

“You’re full of surprises, di Angelo. Maybe I could start with teaching you how to swim.”

“In your dreams, maybe.” Nico spat. “You’d just let me drown.”

“I wouldn’t let anything happen to you.” Will said lightly. It was just a joke, but Nico’s heart fluttered.

“Ugh, maybe. I’ll think about it.”

“Hey, you can always invite me to try swordfighting in the arena and kick my ass afterwards to heal your pride.” Will joked.

Nico gave a small smile. “Yeah, I could. You wouldn’t last a minute.” 

They spent the next hour or so in silence, listening to the waves crash softly against the beach. It was nice.

Staying at camp wasn’t going to be easy for Nico, but he was glad Will seemed to want him here. 

With Hazel and Reyna at camp Jupiter, Jason was Nico’s only real friend here at Camp Half-Blood, until he’d met Will. Nico was sort of sick of always being alone. He  _ liked  _ having friends.

And he really liked that Will was one of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> nico likes billie eilish. will surfs. trust me i just know


	3. cats don’t swim

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> will’s friends love him and nico hates water

“Ugh.” Will groaned as his arrow landed just outside the center of the target. He’d been shooting arrows for a good two hours now, and he’d only landed a center shot twice. 

“At least you’re hitting the target!” Kayla piped beside him. Of course,  _ she’d _ been hitting the target dead center every shot. Kayla was exceptionally gifted at archery.

“Don’t patronize me.” Will grumbled, but there was a fondness in his voice.

Kayla lowered her bow and patted his shoulder. “Can’t win em’ all, dude.” 

“Speaking from experience, Kayla?” Will taunted. Kayla shoved him. “You’ve officially been demoted to  _ the mean sibling. _That means have to help me with this stunt I wanna try. So you can regain your honor.”

“Who says I care about my honor?” 

“Me. Here’s my idea: give me a piggyback ride and run around the archery range, while I try to hit targets. It’s like a simulation of archery on horseback. Also, it’s embarrassing, which makes it fun.” 

Will raised a brow. “It takes a lot more than that to embarrass me. Just don’t shoot me in the back of the head.”

Will hoisted Kayla up into his back. She drew her bow and fired, landing a bullseye. Then she yanked on Will’s hair to get him to move to the left.

“This is just like Ratatouille.” Will stated. Kayla giggled.

“Don’t make me laugh. I’m concentrating.”

Kayla managed to hit most of the targets, even as Will started to purposely make it difficult for her. Finally, she got tired and complained her legs hurt, so Will maneuvered her back onto her feet.

Gods, Will felt like he hadn’t goofed off with his siblings in ages.

Will didn’t have to work in the infirmary today, which is why he’d opted to hang out with Kayla this morning. It was the first day since the battle with Gaea in which Will felt he could finally  _ relax _ . He’d also promised Cecil and Lou Ellen that he’d meet up with them later today. He hadn’t hung out with those two in a while, either.

“Yo, Will! You done trying to salvage your poor archery skills? There’s nothing to save, man!” A familiar female voice rang out over the archery range.

Speak of the devil.

Will turned to see a girl with brown skin and black hair, followed closely by a boy with floppy brown hair and light skin. His two best friends: Lou Ellen and Cecil.

“Hey, guys. Awfully hypocritical of you to insult my skills, Lou. Dare I remind you what happened the last time you tried to shoot an arrow?” Will grinned at her.

Lou Ellen sputtered. “I said I never want to talk  or think about that again.”

Cecil was giggling. “Oh,  _ man _ , I’d almost forgotten about that—ow!” He broke off as Lou Ellen jabbed him in the side.

“ _ Anyway_,” Lou Ellen continued, turning to look up at Will. “You promised to spend the day with us. Cecil and I were planning to have a picnic on the beach. Just the three of us. You could use a getaway, Will.” She stated matter-o-factly.

Will felt himself smile. “Sounds good to me. I’ve missed you guys, really.” He opened his arms for a hug, and his two friends barreled into him, both practically jumping on him.

“Dude, we’ve missed you too.” Cecil agreed. “Lou’s right, y’know. You work too much.”

━━━━━━━━━━━━

The three friends ended up on a striped blue and white blanket beneath the shade of some pine trees. They opted not to sit right on the beach—the sun was blazing today. Lou Ellen had said something about ‘not wanting the white boys to get cooked alive.’

“So,” Lou Ellen began as she plopped down on her back, putting her hands behind her head as a makeshift pillow, “are you and goth boy friends now?”

“You mean Nico?” Will asked. “I dunno. I don’t think he trusts me very much.”

The dark-haired boy eluded Will. He wasn’t at all how Will had expected him to be. Nico was shy and reserved, and had incredibly low self-esteem. From the way some demigods treated him, one would think the son of Hades was a total asshole. Will had expected him to angry and rude, but any aggression Nico did display was due to fear. It was a method of self-protection.

Nico’s low opinion of himself prevented him from believing people could truly want him around. Will had tried to show Nico that this wasn’t the case, but he wasn’t sure Nico trusted him. 

He and Nico had gotten along well during Nico’s stay in the infirmary. They’d even continued to hang out in the few days that had followed. Just yesterday, Nico had tried to teach Will to swordfight. Will had gotten his ass kicked, of course. Nico might be half a foot shorter and generally smaller, but Will hadn’t stood a chance. 

Anyway. Despite this, Nico still didn’t seem to trust him. Will could tell by the way he struggled to approach Will himself, how Nico shied away from him if any of Will’s friends or siblings came to join them. He didn’t truly believe Will wanted anything to do with him.

He kind of reminded Will of a skittish feral cat.

“Will?” His thoughts were broken by Cecil’s voice. “You kinda spaced out on us there, man.”

Will shook his head. “Sorry. Did you say something?”

“Just that you shouldn’t worry so much. Di Angelo doesn’t trust anyone. He does seems to like you more than anyone else at camp, though. Besides Jason, I guess. Or Hazel and Reyna, but they’re technically not  at camp.” Cecil chirped.

“Thanks.” Will mumbled sarcastically.

“Cheer up. He’ll warm up to you. Remember how much Lou hated me when we first met?” Cecil asked, shooting a shit-eating grin over at the dark-haired girl.

“Still do!” She teased.

That was true, Will noted. Lou Ellen and Cecil had  not gotten along at first, which had made it difficult to be friends with both of them at the same time. 

“And look at us now.” Cecil continued, ignoring her. “Best of friends.” He put one arm around her shoulders and one arm around Will’s. Lou Ellen squirmed away. “ Gross. You’re so sweaty.”

“Not my fault! It’s hot as hell.” Cecil protested. 

“Oh man,” Will started, “neither of you were raised in Texas. This is nothing.”

Lou Ellen dark eyes suddenly lit up. “Let’s go swimming! We’re at the lake, aren’t we? No better way to cool off.” 

Cecil gave her a puzzled look as she stood up. “I didn’t bring a swimsuit.”

Will laughed and stood up as well. “Just swim in your clothes. You’ll live.” He followed Lou Ellen, who was already wading into the water. Cecil groaned about ‘having to do more laundry’ but kicked his shoes off and ran after them.

━━━━━━━━━━━━

Swimming with his friends had ended up being a highlight of Will’s day. The cool water had been a welcome relief from the heat of the sun. He and his friends had swum out into the lake, then promptly floated on their backs, exchanging stories and occasionally trying to dunk each other underwater.

Then, when their fingers were pruny, they’d parted ways and gone back to their respective cabins for a shower. Will was lying back on his bed after his own shower, allowing his hair to finish drying. 

Across the room, perched on another bed, Austin was fiddling with his saxophone.

“You gonna play that at the campfire tonight?” Will called over to him.

Austin smiled brightly. “Might as well. Hope everyone’s up for some jazz. You could join in and be my vocalist.” The younger boy’s tone was teasing.

Will hummed. “Maybe. No high notes, though. You know I can’t hit them.”

“No promises. Hey, want to hear my jazz rendition of ‘Allstar’?” 

“Absolutely not.”

Austin ignored him, giggling to himself. “Great, here goes.” 

━━━━━━━━━━━━

Will had indeed been subjected Austin’s (admittedly well performed) version of Allstar. Then Will had teasingly told the younger boy that if he played that at the campfire, Will would absolutely sing along. Austin’s face had taken on a nervous expression and he’d said, “I am  _ not _ playing that in front of the whole camp.”

Will was now sitting at said campfire, roasting a marshmallow and perched between Lou Ellen and Connor Stoll. Lou Ellen was chatting with Cecil, and Connor was bragging to Will about a prank he’d pulled on Valentina Diaz earlier that day.

“You should have seen her face! Oh boy, was she  _ mad. _Told me off for a good hour.” Connor boasted.

“I dunno, dude. I wouldn’t put it past Valentina to get back at you.” Will warned, but laughed nonetheless.

“I can take her.” Connor said airily, waving his hand.

Will raised a brow. “Unless she brings Drew into it. Could you take  _ her?_”

Connor paled. Will patted his shoulder in mock sympathy. “Good luck, man.”

Will cast a glance over to where Jason and Piper sat, chatting idly. He’d been hoping Nico would show up to the campfire at some point, and he imagined the boy would seek Jason out. As the night stretched on, Will began to suspect that the son of Hades had no intention of showing up.

“Why’re you ogling  Piper?” Lou Ellen asked suddenly, successfully yanking Will from his thoughts. Will gave her an affronted look. “I’m not even looking at her. I’m not a homewrecker.”

“That’s just what a homewrecker would say.” 

Will rolled his eyes.

An hour or so later, the sun had completely dropped below the horizon, shrouding the camp in darkness. The campfire was merely a pit of embers by now, and most campers had gone to bed. 

Will stayed outside, now accompanied only by Cecil. Lou Ellen had turned in a few minutes ago, struggling to stay awake. Will leaned back and gazed up at the night sky, deep blue and glittering with stars.

“What’s your favorite constellation?” He asked Cecil. Cecil crinkled his eyebrows, a pensive expression crossing his face. Then his face lit up. In a bad way.

“Apus. Because you’re  _ a puss_—“

Will shoved him, laughing. “Dude, shut up.”

“Kidding, kidding. For real, probably Libra, ‘cause it’s my horoscope. You?” Cecil asked. 

Will was about to reply, when movement in the corner of his eye distracted him. He noticed a black-clad figure standing a ways off from the campfire.

_ Nico,  _ his brain offered. Even though Will couldn’t make out a face, Nico was the only person who wore that much black. 

Cecil noticed his distraction. Yawning, he gave Will a friendly shoulder bump. “I’m heading to bed. Don’t get beheaded by ghost boy.” With that, he stood, stretched, and jogged off.

Will stood up and made his way over to Nico. Now that he was closer, he could see the boy’s face. Nico’s dark eyes were wide with confusion and something akin to panic.

“Do you want something?” Nico asked.

Will decided to ignore the defensive tone. “Yeah, to say  _ hello._ You’re awfully late to the campfire, spooky. It’s only soot now.”

Nico must’ve either missed the nickname or elected to ignore it. “I’m not showing up for the campfire.” He mumbled. “I just happened to walk by.”

_More like you were observing from a distance, because you were too scared to join in_.  Will thought to himself. The blond was sure Nico didn’t realize it, but he was kind of an open book. A dense, oblivious open book. In his efforts to hide his emotions, Nico often seemed to only make them more obvious.

Will raised an eyebrow and leaned over the shorter boy. “Really.” He deadpanned, hoping to convey his obvious disbelief. Nico didn’t seem to notice. He only scowled at Will, obviously trying to get him to back down.

“You don’t scare me, di Angelo. Good try, though.”

Nico’s glare intensified. “I should scare you. I could kill you if I wanted to.”

Will rolled his eyes. “So could half the demigods in camp. You’re not special.”

Nico just huffed and crossed his arms. 

Will shook his head. “Look, I didn’t come over to pick a fight. Do you wanna hang out?”

Nico blinked. “It’s nearly midnight.”

“I know. It’s perfect. Now I can teach you to swim and you don’t have to worry about anyone seeing you.” Will said, smirking at the way the dark-haired boy paled at the idea.

“I don’t want to learn to swim!” He protested.

“I won’t let you drown. C’mon, it’ll be fun.” Will softened his tone when he thought he might’ve seen a genuine flicker of fear in Nico’s eyes. “I’m not actually going to force you into deep water if you’re scared, Nico.”

Nico looked offended. “I’m not  scared.” He grumbled. “Fine, let’s go.”

They made their way to the lake quickly and quietly. When they arrived, Will kicked off his sandals, but opted to leave his shirt on. He didn’t want to make Nico uncomfortable.

Nico pulled off his black boots. He was still wearing the shirt and sweatpants Will had stolen from Kayla to give to him while he was staying in the infirmary. Shit, the guy seriously needed to do some shopping.

Will waded up to his knees in the water, the turned around and beckoned for Nico to follow.The guy put one foot in the water and jerked back. “It’s cold.” He mumbled.

“You’ll get used to it. C’mon.” Will urged.

Shivering, Nico made his way over to Will. 

“Grab onto my shoulders. I’ll swim us out a bit further, and I can show you how to tread water.” Will offered. Nico hesitated, then reached up and placed shaky hands on Will’s shoulders. His hands were _freezing._

Will moved out into the water until he could no longer touch the bottom, and began to lazily tread water. Nico had a death grip on his shoulders, but there was fierce determination in his dark gaze.

“Okay, I want to try.” He stated. Will nodded.

“Sure. Just... sort of kick your legs and make motions with your arms. It’s sort of hard to explain, you need to just get a feel for it.” He told Nico.

Nico pushed away from Will a bit and gave it a shot.

Yeah, the boy had no idea what he was doing. His movements lacked any sort of coordination and he began sinking almost immediately. Will surged forward and wrapped his arms around Nico’s waist, hoisting him up. The boy’s arms came up around Will’s neck.

Will coughed. “Um, not bad for your first try?” He offered.

“Shut  _ up._” Nico growled. “I don’t like this.” 

Will hummed. “That’s okay. Hey, you still tried! Hang onto me, I’ll swim us back to shore, okay?”

Nico nodded, his cheeks turning pink. Will felt bad for embarrassing him, but he truly hadn’t known Nico would be so out of his element in the water. It wasn’t like Will was _trying_ to drown him.

Will pulled them back to shore and they stumbled onto the beach, soaked clothes and all.

“We should probably get back to our cabins. Can’t believe we haven’t gotten caught.” Nico said quietly. Will agreed, but he also cringed at the idea of heading back to his cabin and explaining to his nosy siblings why he looked like a drowned dog. 

Nico must’ve seen the look of apprehension on his face. “I, um, could shadow travel us to my cabin, if you’d like? I have a shower. To get the lake water off. Or I could just shadowtravel you to your cabin—“

“Nico.” Will cut off his rambling. “Are you asking if I want to stay at your cabin?”

“Um, maybe?” 

Will grinned. “Of course I do. Look at you, finally reciprocating my attempts at friendship.”

“Let’s go, then.” Nico said turning away and heading off toward his cabin. Will followed him.

━━━━━━━━━━━━

Nico had exactly two sets of clothing in his cabin, and neither belonged to him. Hazel had left a shirt and a pair of pants behind before she’d left for Camp Jupiter, and Jason had forgotten some of his clothes here. Apparently Jason had slept over a few times, since neither he nor Nico had anyone else in their cabins.

It felt weird to use their clothes, but Will and Nico didn’t exactly have many other options. Unless they wanted to sleep in their soaking wet garments.

Nico had taken a shower first and changed into Hazel’s clothes. He and Hazel were about the same size anyway, so her clothes fit fine. Will had to wear Jason’s clothes.

Afterwards, Nico had plopped down into Hazel’s bed. Will had refused to sleep there, since he barely knew Hazel. It seemed too weird. Stealing a stranger’s clothes was one thing, sleeping in their bed was another. 

Will had ended up taking Nico’s bed. He tried not to audibly make fun of that fact that the beds were literally shaped like coffins.

Nico buried himself under the covers, obviously exhausted and uninterested in starting some classic sleepover games. Will rolled over and pressed his face into the pillow. Exhaustion crept over him as well. He barely heard Nico mutter a sleepy, “G’night,” before Will promptly feel asleep and began to snore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i like drew and i hate the way rick wrote her so i’m changing that shit 🤪 she’s gonna show up more later on. also i think that she and will would sorta be friends. like maybe friends/rivals. 
> 
> p.s. the piggyback ride scene was inspired by me and my sister trying to give each other piggyback rides. life imitates art


	4. homesick? well yes, but actually no.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> will and drew hate each other but they also love each other. then everyone plays capture the flag.

When Will woke up, the first thing he noticed was that he had somehow kicked all his blankets during the night. This was fairly normal; he often got too warm while sleeping.

The second thing he noticed was that the blankets in question were not his, and that was definitely  _ not _ normal.

Startled, Will sat up in bed, and looked around at what was definitely  not the interior of cabin seven. Fantastic.

He heard soft, rhythmic breathing from the bed next to his and looked over to see Nico curled up into a tiny ball under his covers. 

_ Right_, Will reminded himself.  _Nico let me sleep over last night._ His momentary fears that he’d been kidnapped washed away.

He hopped out of bed and began placing the rejected blankets back onto the bed. The noise caused Nico to stir. He blinked his eyes open and gazed blearily at Will. “Gods, what time is it?” He asked, voice slurred and sleepy. Will groaned. “ _Early._ I always wake up early, whether I like it or not. Trust me, I don’t appreciate it.” He stretched and ran a hand through his hair. “I’m gonna slip back to my cabin and get my own clothes. No offense to Jason, but wearing his stuff is getting  weird.”

Nico gave a soft snort. “It’s not  that weird.”

Will rolled his eyes. “Yeah, because you actually know him.”

“You made me wear Kayla’s clothes.” Nico protested. “I didn’t complain.”

Will crossed his arms. “Okay, fine. You win. I still want to change, though. Meet me in the dining pavilion for some breakfast?” He offered.

Nico’s eyes narrowed. “I—okay, sure. Later, though. I want to sleep a little more.”

Will smiled. “Take your time. Just come find me, okay?”

Nico nodded. “Okay.” He said, twisting the ring on his finger. Will clasped his hands together. “Great. See you later, ghost boy.” Will turned to leave, and heard Nico mutter under his breath at the nickname as the blond walked out the door.

━━━━━━━━━━━━

Will was, of course, unable to sneak into his cabin without getting barraged with questions from Kayla. 

“Dude, where  _ were _ you? Don’t even try to lie, I know you never came back to the cabin last night.” She asked. 

“You’re acting like I snuck out to a party.” Will said, huffing. “I went to the lake with Nico last night. Afterwards, I didn’t want to come back here, because it was late and I didn’t want to answer questions.” He crossed his arms. “Looks like it didn’t matter, because I’m being questioned anyway.”

Kayla giggled. “Stop whining, I was only curious. I didn’t know you and di Angelo were friends. What were you doing at the lake?”

Will felt a smile come to his face at the memory. “Trying to teach him to swim. It did  _ not _ go well. Don’t tell him I said that.”

Kayla acted out the motions of sealing her lips. “Your secret is safe with me. Or, well, di Angelo’s secret.”

Will threw on his own clothes—an orange camp shirt, short-sleeved green flannel, and cargo shorts—then made his way to the dining pavilion. He was in dire need of some coffee by now. Chugging multiple cups of straight black coffee was Will’s foolproof method for fighting the ‘I woke up too early’ blues.

After retrieving his coffee, Will sat down at the Apollo cabin’s table. He was the only one there, so he was able to sit back and relax. At least, until a voice familiar voice sounded from beside him.

“What compels you to dress like a white suburban dad everyday? Seriously, I want to know what went through your head when you decided this was a good outfit.” Drew scoffed.

Will turned to look at the dark-haired girl and gave her a grin, not put off even slightly by her words. “Mornin’, Drew.” He greeted. “I dress like this solely to piss you off.”

They weren’t friends, not exactly. Will couldn’t imagine hanging out in his cabin and chatting all night with her, or spilling his heart out when he needed a confidant. He was sure she felt the same way about him. However, Will liked Drew. She was blunt and honest in an almost refreshing way, and she could be funny. There was a lot more to her than most campers gave her credit for. They managed to get along, and Will didn’t mind her company, but he would die before admitting that to her.

They made a good pair because they didn’t take each other’s shit. Their first interaction had consisted of Drew telling Will that it was “too bad he was such a bossy asshole, otherwise he was hot enough to date.” Amused, Will had said he returned the sentiment wholeheartedly.

And since then, they’d been weirdly inseparable. Drew made an interesting companion. Ally? Frenemy? He wasn’t sure.

“So,” Will began, “did you come over here to insult me, or do you want something?”

Drew rolled her eyes. “Oh, don’t be a baby. I hardly insulted you. Could’ve been so much worse.” She leaned against the table. “I came to ask if your cabin wanted to team up with Aphrodite for capture the flag tonight.”

Will’s head shot up. “I forgot that was tonight! Yeah, sure, Apollo and Aphrodite can team up. Who else do we have?”

Drew hummed. “Demeter, I think? Dunno, honestly. You’d have to ask Piper.”

Will didn’t miss the way her voice wavered when Drew said her half-sister’s name. He knew there was bad blood between them, but he’d never pried. He couldn’t help but notice Drew looked more sad and slightly frustrated than angry.

Will glanced past Drew and noticed Nico walking towards him. He gave the son of Hades a wave, and beckoned for him to come over to the table.

“Hi.” The son of Hades said when he arrived next to Will, his voice hushed. Will opened his mouth to respond, but Drew beat him to it.

“You could get  _ him _ to join our team. With all the black he wears and that fact that he’s, like, the size of a small dog, nobody would even see him.” She deadpanned. Will winced. _“Drew._ ” He started, glancing at Nico. To his surprise, Nico didn’t look remotely offended. 

Drew waved her hand. “I know when I’m no longer wanted. See you later.” She stood up and lazily walked back toward her cabin.

Will turned to Nico. “Sorry. She says whatever comes to her mind.”

Nico looked amused. “It’s fine. I don’t think she was trying to be mean. ”

Will chuckled. “Actually, for Drew, that might’ve been a compliment. Implying she wanted you on our team? It doesn’t get much sappier than that with her.” Will paused. “ _ Do _ you want to? Join our team, I mean. For capture the flag.”

Nico hesitated. “I don’t usually participate in that stuff.”

Will felt a mild stab of annoyance. He was tempted to ask Nico what he thought made him so special, but thought better of it. If he wanted Nico on his team, starting a fight with him wasn’t the way to go about it.

“But... I guess I could give it a try. I’ve only played once before.” Nico continued. He didn’t sound very sure of himself, but he was still making an effort. 

Will bumped his shoulder. “No time like the present to try again.”

━━━━━━━━━━━━

With the help of Kayla and Austin, bless them, Will had rounded his siblings up for capture the flag as the sun began to set. They met up with their teammates, consisting of the Aphrodite, Demeter, Athena, Iris, Hephaestus, and Hecate cabins. Tonight, they made up the red team, with Piper McLean as their captain.

Nico still wasn’t here. Will hoped he was just running late.

Piper clapped her hands together a few times to gather the chattering group’s attention. Her dark brown eyes were fierce with determination and excitement. “Okay, listen up! Let’s talk strategy.”

Will felt a nudge to his elbow and looked down to see that Lou Ellen had scooted up next to him. “Greetings, fellow teammate. Ready to kick Cecil’s ass?”

Will stifled a laugh. “He’ll never know what hit him.”

Lou Ellen turned toward Piper and chimed in. “I’ll be one of the flag guards. I can create some pretty neat illusions, and I’ve got spells to keep the other team away.”

Piper grinned. “Sounds good. I’ll join you. I’m pretty good with my knife. Gives us a good variety of abilities.” Multiple eyes darted to the golden dagger hanging off the belt of her jeans.

Will spoke up next. “I think we should have another pair act as backup for the flag guards. They can linger a little ways away from the flag, hidden in the woods. Then, if the guards get into trouble, they’ll always be near enough to come help. It’s  technically not breaking the ‘only two flag guards’ rule, since they’re not  actually guards. Then, the rest of us can partner up and make our way into the blue team’s territory.”

“I think that’s a good idea. I’ll be a backup.” Annabeth Chase put in, giving Will an approving nod. Will had nearly forgotten she was here—she’d been so quiet, simply observing and contemplating.

“Count me in as the second.” Valentina Diaz pitched in, looking at Annabeth and twirling a sharp knife in her hand. “I’m hoping Connor Stoll will show up. I have special gift just for him.” Will recalled what Connor had told him at the campfire last night; he’d played some sort of trick of Valentina. Will felt slightly bad for Connor, Valentina looked  intense .

With that, the rest of the team began breaking into pairs. Will was about to ask Lou Ellen to partner with him, when she gestured toward someone standing a little ways off, slightly shaded by the trees. It was Nico.

Will felt surprised. He’d sort of assumed Nico wasn’t going to show. He gave the boy a warm smiled and waved his hand. Lou Ellen looked impressed. “Looks like you got di Angelo to show up. Kudos to you, Will. You can be his partner, I’m gonna go find Miranda.” She patted his arm and spun on her heals to search for the daughter of Demeter.

Nico shuffled over towards Will. “You just get here?” Will asked him. Nico shook his head. “Been here for awhile. I heard the game plan.” 

“Oh. I didn’t see you.” Will noted. Something akin to disappointed flashed across Nico’s face, but it was gone so quickly Will could’ve simply imagined it.

Brushing the thought away, the blond handed the shorter boy a red ribbon to tie around his arm. “Gotta show some team spirit. Also, we’re partners now, since Lou Ellen ditched me.”

The disappointed look was back, and this time Will didn’t think he imagined it. He was momentarily confused, before he realized the implications of his words.

“I didn’t mean it like that. I  _ want _ to partner with you. I just hadn’t expected you to show up, so I had planned on going with Lou.” He rambled.

Nico shrugged and looked away. He took the red ribbon from Will and looked it over his wrist. “It’s fine. It doesn’t matter.”

Will frowned. He knew Nico didn’t believe him, and he wasn’t sure how to convince this unbelievably self-deprecating boy that Will actually liked him. He was concerned about the way Nico just  _ accepted _ it, like he didn’t even realize he deserved to be treated just like an actual person.

Before he could open his mouth and likely just dig a deeper hole, Piper’s voice rang out. “Okay, people! Enough talk. Partner up, and get out there!” Almost instantaneously, everyone proceeded to shut up and file into pairs.

Will marveled at how confident and at ease Piper had become. He remembered when she’d first shown up to camp, ashamed of her parentage and herself. She was stressed and insecure, and the only person she’d truly trusted was Leo Valdez. 

She’d made a remarkable turnaround. She learned that she was just as strong and capable as any demigod, despite the rumors and stereotypes floating around. She did not need to define herself by the opinions other may hold.

Will gently took Nico’s wrist. The other boy flinched, but didn’t yank his hand away like he had when they’d first met. The two boys quietly made their ways into the woods.

They walked side by side in silence. Nico was vigilantly scanning the woods around them, as if they were about to be brutally slaughtered at any given moment.

Well, Will supposed it  was possible. It was capture the flag, after all.

Will didn’t mind the silence. It was calming, and it gave him room to breathe and to think. Normally, if he could get a moment of quiet, he’d take it. However, right now, he wanted to take advantage of his time with Nico and actually speak with him. So, he started up a conversation in what was perhaps the worst way possible.

“So, Nico. It’s just you and me now. Alone. Beneath the moonlight.” Will wanted to kick himself. Why was he  _ flirting_? “Perfect opportunity for deep personal questions.” Yeah. Nico, the guy with walls built higher than a skyscraper, was going to  love that.

Nico looked more confused than anything. “Why would this be a good time for—“

“Question number one,” Will cut him off, staring him down with the most ridiculously serious expression he could muster. “What’s your favorite color?”

Nico was looking at him like he’d grown a second head. Then, he started to laugh softly.

_ He has a cute laugh, _ Will thought. Why was he noticing that?

“You’re weird.” Nico stated. “I guess... I guess my favorite color is purple. I just think it’s nice?” He looked at Will. “And you? Please don’t say yellow.”

Will placed a hand over his chest in mock offense. “Wow. Because my dad is Apollo? No, it’s not yellow. It’s blue. But, like, a light blue. Navy is ugly.”

Nico nodded. “That’s fair.” He conceded. 

“Your turn. Ask me something.” Will prompted. Nico looked pensive for a moment. Then his eyes lit up. “If you could go anywhere in the world right now, where would it be?”

An uncomfortable pang settled in Will’s stomach when his mind automatically went to his home back in Texas. He felt confused, because he didn’t exactly want to go back there. Not anymore, at least. He wasn’t ignorant anymore.

Will shook his head. He didn’t want to think about this right now. Or ever, really, but these thoughts seemed to sneak up on him when he least expected it.

He forced a smile. “I dunno. I’ve never been outside the country, so that could be fun. Where’d you come up with that question?”

Nico shrugged. “I often come across chatty ghosts. They ask me a lot of questions like that. Anything to pass time, I suppose.” He smiled thinly. “If they ever asked me that question, I would often tell them that I  _ could _ just go anywhere I wanted, with my shadowtravel. They always seemed to get a kick out of that.”

Will found that weirdly sweet. “Do you talk to ghosts often?”

Nico’s eyes narrowed self-consciously. Will backtracked. “I don’t mean that in a bad way.”

Nico still looked mildly suspicious. “I guess. I run into a lot of them when I’m not at camp. There aren’t many here.”

Suddenly, there was a rustling noise from right behind them. The two boys whipped around in sync, and came face-to-face with Jason Grace and Sherman Yang.

“I’ve got Jason.” Nico said to him, before lunging toward the blond demigod. Will turned toward Sherman. The guy was a little bit shorter than Will, but he was built like a tank. Also, he was wielding a large knife.

“Wanna go ahead and back down now, Solace?” Sherman asked, grinning smugly.

“Looks like you forgot a weapon.”

In a split second decision, Will’s arm shot out and gripped Sherman’s wrist, twisting it just enough to hurt like crazy without breaking. The son of Ares swore and dropped the knife. Will grabbed his other wrist and pulled Sherman’s arms together behind his back, then forced him to the group with a knee on his back.

“My powers don’t help me fight, and I’m useless with weapons.” Will stated casually. “But I know the human body and I know how to hold my own in a fist fight. How else do you think I can call myself a  _ combat medic_ _,_ man?”

Sherman attempted to tug his arms out of Will’s grip, but Will held him there. The son of Ares groaned. “Okay, okay, you got me. Sorry for underestimating you, Doc.” The other boy twisted his head around to grin at Will. “I would’ve kicked your ass if I’d kept the knife, though. That trick wouldn’t help you much against a monster, either.”

“Maybe.” Will conceded, flashing a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes and keeping the bitterness in his voice at bay. “But you didn’t keep the knife, and you’re not a monster.”

Will released his hold and Sherman stood, rubbing his wrists. Will heard a startled shout and spun around to see Nico and Jason still locked in combat.

Watching Nico fight was fascinating. Despite his size, he was a force to be reckoned with. It seemed as though he used that to his advantage. He was agile and crafty, never allowing Jason to catch him or land a good hit. He used his sword as if it were a part of him. It was a small and relatively narrow sword, so unlike the one Jason was wielding, but it suited him. Will suspected it was easier to handle and maneuver in split-second decisions.

Nico also had the use of his powers. He summoned a spike of black rock from the earth, effectively tripping Jason. When the tables seemed to turn in the son of Zeus’s favor, Nico could simply pop into the shadows and reappear nearby, effectively throwing Jason off his game. Will began to feel mildly concerned as he watched Nico—he hoped Nico wouldn’t overdo it with his shadow magic. The boy had only been out the the infirmary for a week.

Nico ended up jumping out of the shadow of a tree just behind Jason, and before the blond could react, Nico had his sword pressed to the back of Jason’s neck. “My win.” He stated smugly. Jason turned around and flashed Nico a blinding grin. “Good game, man! You fight well.” Nico gave him a small smile. “Thanks. You too.”

Delighted shouting broke out nearby. Miranda stormed into the clearing that Will, Sherman, Nico, and Jason had just tousled in, waving a blue flag. She was followed by Lou Ellen and several other teammates. “The red team wins!” She shouted gleefully. Lou Ellen ran over to Will and raised her hand for a giddy high-five, which Will happily obliged. Then he nudged Nico. “Nice work, teammate. We won!” Nico rolled his eyes. “ We didn’t get the flag. We just wandered around in the woods and got into a fight.” 

Will waved his hand dismissively. “Details. Good game though, right?”

Nico didn’t look at him. His eyes looked a little unfocused, and he seemed even paler. “Yeah. I... I had a good time. Thanks for, y’know, kinda forcing me to do this.” His words were slightly slurred. Will frowned.

“Hey, I didn’t force you. You decided to join in all on your own.” Will told him. “Are you okay? You look like you’re going to be sick.”

Nico opened his mouth to respond, then promptly crumpled forward. Will lunged to grab him before he hit the ground. He scooped the boy up, frowning at how easy it was to do so. He noticed that the tips of Nico’s fingers were slightly transparent.

“Damnit, Nico.” Will cursed. Of course, he’d overexerted himself too quickly with all those fancy tricks he’d used while fighting Jason.

Jason, speak of the devil, rushed over. “What happened?” Worry was prominent in the older demigod’s eyes.

Will shook his head. “He’ll be okay. Overdid it with his death magic. It was way worse than this during the war. I just need to get him some ambrosia.”

That was true, it  _ had _ been far worse when Will had run into Nico during his scouting mission with Cecil and Lou Ellen. Nico didn’t feel like he was in danger of completely fading right now, but Will was frustrated nonetheless. He knew he couldn’t force Nico to avoid using his powers, but  _gods_ , he wished the boy would stop doing this.

Will situated Nico into a more comfortable position in his arms, then began to walk towards Nico’s cabin. Since the dark-haired boy wasn’t in critical condition, Will figured he could recover in his own cabin. Nico would likely appreciate it.

“Do you need any help with him?” Jason asked, peering over Will’s shoulder and down at the unconscious boy in his arms. 

Will noticed that there was guilt written into Jason’s features. He shook his head. “Really, it’s fine. He needs rest. It’s not your fault, man.”

Jason nodded skeptically. “I—okay. Sorry, I’ll let you do what you need to do. I’ll just... come visit him later.” He waved at Will awkwardly, then turned around to speed walk away.

Will carried Nico back to his cabin and gingerly placed him onto his bed. After placing a blanket over the boy, he quickly headed to the infirmary for some ambrosia. The infirmary was packed—it was always busy after a game of capture the flag. Will supposed he’d be helping out after he finished up with Nico.

He opened the door to cabin 13, and Nico began to stir as Will entered. He blinked his eyes open and mumbled groggily, “what happened... where am I?” There was en edge of panic in his voice. “Why is it so dark?”

Will flicked the lights on, then walked over to the bed. He placed a gentle hand on Nico’s arm. “Relax. You’re in your cabin. I brought you here after you blacked out. Your own fault, bud.”

Nico blinked at him, recognition and relief seeping into his face. “Oh.”

Will scoffed. “Yeah, ‘oh’.” He pulled a square of ambrosia out of the plastic bag he’d brought with him. “Eat this.”

Nico popped the ambrosia into mouth. “I feel fine.” He mumbled. Will sighed. “You shouldn’t have pushed yourself so hard. Especially not for a silly game.”

Nico’s dark eyes glittered with anger. “You don’t get to tell me what to do!” He snapped. He looked more embarrassed than angry.

“I know.” Will said firmly. He met Nico’s stare unflinchingly. “Nobody can  _ make  _ anyone do anything. I’m only trying to show I care, Nico. Don’t be a brat.”

Nico looked shocked, and dropped his gaze. There was a long pause before Nico muttered an “okay.”

Will offered a smile. “Get some sleep. It’s gotta be past midnight by now.”

Nico nodded. “Yeah, alright.” He glanced up at Will. “Um, goodnight.”

“Goodnight.” Will mumbled softly as he exited Nico’s cabin. He trudged back to his own, threw on some pajamas, and crawled into bed. 

He tried to sleep, but his head swam with hundreds of thoughts at a time. There were strange and conflicting emotions tumbling around in his gut, and he didn’t know what to make of them. He was still stressed about Nico’s question earlier. He hadn’t thought about his home, his  _ family_, back in Texas for awhile now. He didn’t  want to think about it. He’d left it behind two years ago, when he’d decided to start staying at camp year-round, for a reason. He was angry and confused, yet strangely homesick, and he didn’t know why.

For all he was gifted at reading other people, he sure wasn’t good at reading himself.

He heard shuffling across the room, and Austin’s voice called out into the darkness of the cabin. “You awake, Will?”

“Yeah.” Will responded.

“Great. Wanna play truth or dare?”

Will muffled a snicker into his pillow. “That’s such a bad idea. Let’s do it.”

He could always count on his siblings to pull him out of his thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im in love with the idea that will wakes up early every day and he HATES it. but he also can’t just stay in bed he feels the need to get up and do something but boy if he’s not pissed about it.
> 
> a little thing about nico’s character: something i’ve always noticed when i read the books is that he does not realize that it’s not always his fault that people hate him or hurt him. he thinks if someone is treating him badly, it’s bc he did something to deserve it. that’s why he lets percy treat him the way he does. this is something i really wish was addressed more, so i’m exploring it in this fic. this boy has been treated horribly by A LOT of ppl it is not just in his head. 
> 
> also! finally a little snippet of will’s feelings about his childhood. it’s going to be sort of slowly revealed. i’m going to really dive in and explore the relationship between him and his mother, and why he’s a year-round camper. i think rocky, complex familial relationships are interesting because they’re so very real. a lot of what i have planned for will and his family comes right from my own personal experiences.


	5. love and death are not so different; both are scorned by many

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> let’s go to the MALLLLL everybody!!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow this took longer than i expected. don’t even know why!! the idea was there but i just couldn’t get it out. have fun. 
> 
> i bled for this
> 
> also happy bday nico 💞💞💞

Nico had come to realize that, despite having known  _ of _ Camp Half Blood since he was around ten years old, he didn’t really know much  _ about _ it. Not in the social or community sense, anyway. He’d never spent more than a week straight at camp before, so he’d been missing out on a lot of traditions and customs.

One such tradition was the monthly shopping trip. A select group of campers would head into New York City to stock up on supplies needed at camp, as well as pick up clothes or personal hygiene products requested by other campers.

Whenever a camper found themselves in need of something, from clothing to toiletries to books, they’d add their name and requested items to a list posted in their respective cabins. 

Will had called the trip a ‘ _supply run_ ’, and Nico had told him that made it sound as if they were in the middle of an apocalypse.

As the head of the infirmary, and thus the one in charge of restocking the camp‘s medical supplies, Will always got to go. He didn’t seem all that thrilled about it; he just looked weary. Nico supposed that the shopping trips likely got old after awhile.

The idea, admittedly, sounded kind of fun. For some reason, Nico didn’t mind the thought of going into New York City with Will. They were friends, after all, and Nico was fairly sure friends did things like that together. Not that he was knowledgable in the subject. 

He also wouldn’t mind a break from camp, and, well, he  _ did _ need new clothes...

“Can I go?” Nico asked before he could stop himself.

Will hesitated. “I’ve got quite a few people tagging along already. So long as you don’t mind being around them as well, I suppose.” There was an uneasy flicker in his eyes that caused Nico to shrink back on himself. Was Will ashamed to allow Nico to tag along? Perhaps he’d only wanted to hang out with his  _ real _ friends. 

“If you’ve already got enough people, I won’t intrude...” Nico started.

“No, no. I didn’t mean it like that.” There was a strange emotion in Will’s gaze. At first Nico thought it might be pity, but... it wasn’t. It was something Nico couldn’t exactly place.

“I would love it if you came along. I was only warning you that I already have a few friends tagging along, and, well, they can be a bit overwhelming. I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable.” Will continued.

The thought  did make Nico nervous. Truly, he did want to think the best of people. They sure knew how to make that difficult, though, and thus Nico found himself apprehensive to engage with people he didn’t know well. There were a few people he’d deemed “safe” (Hazel, Reyna, Jason, and Will popped into his mind) but beyond them, he avoided social situations.

Nico found himself digging up a rather unpleasant memory. Only two days ago, he’d been at the archery range for a lesson taught by Kayla Knowles. Mandatory camp activities were back in full swing, much to Nico’s dismay.The lesson had been going miserably enough already—Nico was utterly abysmal at archery—but only worsened when they’d been forced to partner up. Nico was paired with a son of Hermes he did not recognize. The boy had seemed friendly enough during the lesson, and Nico made the mistake of thinking that this boy might not be so bothered by him.

At least, until the Hermes boy had trotted back to a group his friends once the archery lesson finished, and Nico overheard the words they exchanged.

“That kid freaks me out. He barely speaks, and he just  _ looks _ weird, too—so small and sickly. Reminds me of a staved wild animal. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to having him at camp.”

Nico had booked it straight to his cabin after that. He grabbed the notebook and pencils Will had given him in the infirmary. Lately, drawing had proven to be a good way to deal with overwhelming emotions. He’d began furiously scribbling out little sketches while a nauseating mix of humiliation, anger, and sadness seared through him.

He didn’t understand what he’d done wrong.

“Nico?”

Nico shook his head. “Sorry. Um, who’s going with you?”

Will tapped his foot. “Lou Ellen, Cecil, Drew, and Miranda.”

That sounded... manageable. Nico didn’t know Miranda, but from what he knew of the other three, they were okay. 

Nico looked back up at Will. “Okay. I still want to go.”

The healer smiled. “Great! I’m sure we can find a Hot Topic for you.” His smile morphed into an obnoxious smirk.

“How are we getting there?” Nico asked, flushing at the fact that he knew what Will was talking about. He wasn’t familiar with the names of most modern stores, but he had made a stop by that one before. Sue him, they had stuff he liked!

Will hummed. “We usually rent a car. I think we’ve all got licenses—Lou and I got ours recently, and Drew’s had hers for a bit now. Dunno about Cecil, but I wouldn’t want him behind the wheel anyway.”

Nico sometimes forgot that demigods still did normal teenage things: some of them went to regular schools, they had mortal families and friends, they did homework and played sports, they got their driver’s licenses. They lived such strange, disconnected lives at camp; being reminded of their mortal,  _ human _ halves was always somewhat of a punch in the gut 

That, and the fact that Nico had never had much of a normal human life, not since his memory had been wiped. Nico knew his mythology and his history: greek, roman, and beyond. He was well traveled in the realm of mythological pantheons, and in the supernatural aspect of demigods’ lives in general. However, he realized with a start that he knew next to nothing about the mortal world. That was a part of him too; he was just as much a human and he was a god.

Will’s voice broke into his thoughts. “I’m assuming you don’t have a license.”

“Nope.” Nico confirmed. “Not sure how I’d get one, either. I don’t exactly have  current documentation of my existence.”

Will blinked. “Right. Nico, man. You can’t, like, buy a house. Or go to school. Or get a license.” Will furrowed his brow. “Shit. You can’t do much of anything. What do you even do about that? Talk to Chiron? Not that he’s the greatest help.”

Will seemed to be mostly talking to himself at this point. Nico was surprised to catch the slight jab at Chiron—most campers really admired him.

“I don’t need to drive a car,” Nico cut in, derailing Will’s rant. “Or any of those other things.”

Will looked like he was about to argue, but then seemed to decide there was no point. He was shaking his head in a ‘ _ where do I even begin _ ’ sort of way. “The others should be waiting for us at the Big House by now. C’mon. This conversation is  not over, but I do not have the energy to unpack that right now.”

━━━━━━━━━━━━

Drew, Lou Ellen, Cecil, and Miranda were, in fact, waiting for them. Lou Ellen waved as she saw them approaching. 

“About time!” She huffed. “We’ve got all the lists.” She waved a few pieces of notebook paper that were fastened together with a paper clip. Will snatched the papers out of her hand, then flipped through them. He groaned. “This is a lot.”

Drew crossed her arms. “Exactly. That’s why we need to get moving. Thanks for holding us up, Solace.”

Will simply rolled his eyes, and his smile didn’t leave his face. “Get over yourself, Tanaka.” He folded the papers and stuffed them into one of the pockets on his baggy cargo shorts. “Less complaining, more doing. Let’s go.”

━━━━━━━━━━━━

The shopping trip was starting to look an awful lot like a quest. Since Will had told Nico they’d be renting a car, and Nico had assumed it would be an easy trip. However, he now realized that step one was  _ actually getting _ _to a car rental agency_. So, after leaving Camp behind and walking about a half-mile, the group planted themselves on the shoulder of a small road. Will jutted out his thumb—the universal hitchhiking gesture—to hopefully flag down a passing car. 

“This feels like a bad idea. We could just shadowtravel.” Nico muttered to Will. The healer shook his head.

“That’s even worse. There’s six of us, and it’s a sizable distance. I’d end up carrying you for the whole trip if you try that. Relax, I know what I’m doing.” Will told him.

“You hitchhike often?” Nico questioned.

“I’m from the south.” Will responded vaguely, as if that somehow answered Nico’s question. “What, you never have?”

Nico shook his head. “I never needed to. I’d just shadowtravel. It was preferable to being stuck in a car with a stranger.”

Will shrugged. “I can see that. Hitchhiking certainly isn’t safe, but I’m pretty good at reading people. Don’t worry, I’m not going to get you stuck in a car with a creep.”

Nico scowled at the blond. “I’m not  worried .”

A couple minutes later, a dark green van slowed and stopped near them. The window rolled down and a young woman popped her head out. She had dark hair and green eyes, and there was a friendly expression written across her face. She looked to be around their age—maybe 16 or so. Nico shot a glance at Will, who was studying her with narrowed eyes.

“You guys looking for a ride?” She had a heavy New York accent. “I’m headed to central Brooklyn, if you wanna tag along.”

Will’s calculating look washed away, and he smiled brightly. “Yes, thank you. That’d be perfect.”

The group climbed into backseats of the car, after Cecil had shouted “shotgun!” and flung himself into the passenger seat. Drew had rolled her eyes and muttered something indistinguishable under her breath. They squished into the car to the best of their ability, which meant the two smallest people—Lou Ellen and Nico—had to curl up on the floor.

While on the road, Cecil chatted up their driver.Nico listened, learning that her name was Mia, and she was headed to her older sister’s university for a visit. When Mia had asked what  _ they _ were up to, there was an awkward pause.

“We’re visiting our parents.” Cecil finally answered. He sounded completely confident, as if that was the best possible cover story anyone could hope to provide. Mia glanced back at the very obviously not consanguineous siblings in her car with a raised brow, but didn’t say anything.

Cecil paled slightly. “Er, it’s complicated. Dad didn’t like to settle down, if you know what I mean.” He added hastily. Will looked like he wanted to smack Cecil.

Cecil stopped trying to talk to Mia after that.

Nico squirmed around on the floor, trying to escape the painful sensation of Drew’s bony knees digging into his upper back.

Will took over chatting with Mia. He prompted her with questions about her sister’s university, as well as her own plans for college. 

“I’d like to attend the same place as my sister.” Mia began, smiling to herself. “It’s a good college, and I’d love to live closer to my sister. We’re best friends.”

Will had a wistful glint in his eyes. Nico wondered if he was thinking about college as well. His look of longing made Nico suspect that he really wanted to go. Not all demigods went to college. Many died before they were old enough, or found that the lifestyle was not suitable for them. The college in New Rome tried to accommodate that, being sort of a safe haven for demigods to coexist with the mortal world, but college still didn’t work out for many.

Nico didn’t know where he stood on the subject. The idea of  _ moving on _ _,_ trying to live a semblance of a normal life. . . it sounded lovely and scary at the same time.

Nico wasn’t sure if safety or normalcy were things permitted to him anymore.

━━━━━━━━━━━━

They never ended up needing to rent a car for their trip into Brooklyn, since Mia was headed there anyway. They’d been in the car for about two hours when Will said, “could you drop us off at the Dunkin’ Donuts coming up? We’re meeting our family there.” He eyed Cecil as he said  _ family _ .

“Sure thing.” Mia chirped. She pulled up to the curb outside a brightly colored pink-and-orange shop Nico had never seen before. The group eagerly piled out of the car, happy to stretch their legs after being cramped together for hours.

“We can’t thank you enough for the ride.” Will praised, smiling kindly at Mia. “I hope you have a good time with your sister.”

Mia smiled back and ducked her head. “It was no big deal, really. And, um,” she paused and scribbled out a series of number on a little scrap of paper. “If you ever want to talk more about college, you can always hit me up.” She handed the paper to Will, still smiling shyly. 

After she drove away, Drew snorted out a laugh. “Oh, that was  _ terrible _ . Talk about desperate.” 

Will scowled. “Don’t be an ass. She was nice.”

Drew rolled her eyes. “Ever the gentleman, aren’t you? I don’t know about you, but I sure get sick of randos riding my dick. Is it some kind of ego boost for you?”

“That’s  _ rich _ coming from the girl who tried to get on  _ mine _ just a year ago—“ Will started, now genuinely looking a bit pissed. Drew’s gaze darkened considerably.

Nico was following maybe half of the exchange, and understood about every other word being thrown around. 

“Guys, stop.” Lou Ellen interrupted. “Drew, stop picking fights. Will, stop letting her. Kudos for getting a cute girl’s number, I’m jealous. Can we move on and get started on our shopping before we kill each other?”

Will shook his head. “Sorry, Lou. You’re right.”

“Always am.” Her eyes sparkled. “Now, Will, where are we? Since you  were the one to ask to be dropped here, I hope you’ve got a plan.”

“There’s a shopping center a few blocks down.” Nico contributed suddenly. The other demigods turned to him in unison, frowning like they’d forgotten he was able to speak. Nico huffed. “I saw it on a sign, as we were driving...”

Will smiled softly at him. “No, you’re right. There’s a pharmacy and a medical supply store just across from the mall, so I figured it would be the best place to start.”

When they stepped inside, the first word Nico could think of the describe it was  busy . It was loud and there were people everywhere. For some reason, that was comforting. It made him feel as if no one was looking at him or paying attention to him—there was too much going on. He felt hidden in plain sight. 

“Hooray, we’re here.” Drew sounded bemused. “Solace, can I have a look at those lists? I know Lacy wanted some new mascara, and I need new lipstick. I’m just going to go ahead and get all the beauty products out of the way.”

“You  _ would _ .” Cecil said offhandedly. “Aphrodite kids are all the same.”

To Nico’s surprise, Drew didn’t say anything. She shot Cecil a miffed looked, as if he were a speck of dirt on her shoe, but she must’ve decided she wasn’t in the mood to fight. 

Nico personally thought that particular comment, more so than any others that had gotten Drew riled up during this trip, deserved retaliation. He knew how it felt to be labeled a certain way due to your godly parent. It wasn’t nice. It was alienating.

“Sounds good.” Miranda nodded at Drew. “But you should take someone else. I don’t think it’s a good idea for anyone to go anywhere alone. The rest of us can start looking for other things. When you’re done, you can meet us at the food court over there.” She gestured toward the entrance they’d just come from, where several food stands and tables were clustered.

“Fine. Who’s coming?” Drew asked, placing her hands on her hips. There was an awkward silence as the other demigods looked at each other, each silently begging another to volunteer. Will obviously hadn’t heard her—he was busy checking over the list of medical supplies he’d snatched from Miranda. Nico suspected, with a hollow feeling in his gut, that Will was the only person here who liked Drew even a little bit.

Nico felt a flicker of anger.  _ People notice things like that; it feels awful.  _ He recalled his early days on the Argo ll, when Hazel had been the only one who cared to speak to him. The others had regarded him with hostility and scorn, like he’d done something wrong. He didn’t understand why—he hardly knew them. How could they hate him so quickly?

It made him feel worthless. There must be something wrong with him—everyone sure seemed to think so.

“I’ll go with you.” Nico said quietly. Drew’s expression didn’t change—if she cared, she hid it well.

“C’mon then, kid.” She spun on her heels and began walking at a brisk pace. Nico locked eyes with Will (who was now paying attention), and Will smiled. He looked appreciative—but not in a malicious way. Maybe he was genuinely happy that Nico had offered to go with Drew. It did seem like Will and Drew were, well,  _ sort of _ friends.

He hurried to catch up with Drew, and to match her pace. She was taller than him, with much longer legs, and it made her pace mildly awkward to match.

“Don’t call me ‘kid’.” He mumbled when he’d caught up. “You’re only a year or two older.”

“Well, I  _ look _ five years older.” Drew quipped.

Nico chose not to give in to her goading. 

“Where are we going?” He asked.

Drew pursed her lips. “The biggest department store I can find in here. They’ll have the widest selection. I’d like to avoid bouncing around to fifty different stores, thank you.”

She ushered Nico into a store mere minutes later. She seemed to know where she was going, briskly making her way to the cosmetics department. Nico stood behind her, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet as she picked through what looked like various lipsticks. An older woman, likely a salesperson given her uniform, approached Drew and asked if she needed any help. Drew assured the woman that she knew what she was looking for.

The woman turned to Nico. “Do you need anything, honey?” Nico blinked. “No, thank you. I’m with her.” He gestured to Drew.

After the woman left, Nico muttered under his breath to Drew. “Should we leave? Was she trying to say I shouldn’t be here?”

Drew didn’t even spare him a glance. “What are you talking about?”

“I’m not supposed to be here, right? I’m not allowed to use this kind of stuff. People are going to start giving me weird looks.” He shuffled his feet. 

“But we’re having  _ so _ much fun.” Drew drawled, not sounding serious in the slightest. “Relax. You’re all worked up over nothing. That saleswoman wasn’t implying anything. She just thought you were looking for something. With that whole...  _ look _ you’ve got going on, I doubt anyone here is totally sure you’re a boy, anyway. You don’t look that out of place.”

Nico frowned, unsure of what Drew meant. This was a common occurrence—he found himself puzzled by modern slang and concepts quite often. Hazel had mentioned having the exact same problem. It was frustrating for the both of them, agreeing that they usually felt too embarrassed to ask for clarification. They didn’t want to be made fun of.

For some reason, though, he felt like could ask Drew. She made fun of everybody anyway, so it wouldn’t feel all that personal. “What do you mean by that?” He asked carefully.

Drew looked over at him. “You’re kind of androgynous-looking.” Nico must’ve still looked puzzled, because Drew continued. “It just means that you don’t obviously look like a girl or a boy. You just sort of... look like you could be either.”

Nico considered this. He never really thought about his appearance that much. He knew he was short and scrawny, and not all that much to look at. He’d never cared much for overt masculinity—it carried some negative connotations for him. The need to be so aggressively masculine was prominent when he was growing up in 1930s Italy, and it was especially noticeable in the kind of men who harassed women and threw around slurs. Even as a pretty young kid, he’d noticed that, and he’d hated it. He preferred to hang out with Bianca and her friends as opposed to the other boys his age. Nico didn’t remember much from his childhood, but he  _ did _ remember that.

To not have to adhere to that, well. . . that sounded okay. Nico decided he was fine with Drew’s comment.

“Plus,” Drew continued. “It’s not like makeup is just for girls. Miranda practices her makeup on her boyfriend, Sherman, and sometimes he’ll just keep it on for the rest of the day. He’s, like, as manly as they come. Anyone can wear it.”

Nico gave her a small smile, hoping to communicate his gratitude that she’d explained this so kindly. Drew really wasn’t so bad, and Nico was starting to feel like her awful reputation was not deserved. 

Drew didn’t smile back, but she also wasn’t looking at Nico as if he were a squashed bug. “Y’know, we still have to hit up some clothing stores. If you want, I can help you pick out some things you probably have never gotten the chance to wear before. Trust me, you want my help. This outfit you’ve got going on...” she gestured over his body, “it is doing you  _ no _ favors.” 

“It’s all I’ve got.” Nico muttered, self-consciously tugging on his borrowed purple shirt. The clothes were very worn by now, as they’d been Nico’s only outfit for the past several weeks. He doubted Kayla would want them back now. 

Whatever. That was Will’s fault.

Drew ended buying a few different products, checking her list every once in awhile in order to select the specific products that had been requested. She and Nico returned to the table in the food court where they’d agreed to meet up with the rest of the group. Lou Ellen and Miranda Gardiner were chatting animatedly while sipping drinks with whipped cream. Lou Ellen waved when she noticed them approaching. When they sat down, the daughter of Hecate grinned smugly at Nico. 

“So, how was beauty shopping?” she asked.

Drew cut in before Nico could respond. “Fine. Maybe if you got over yourself for once, you wouldn’t be ashamed to set foot in there.”

“Ouch.” Lou Ellen mumbled, but she looked slightly chastened.

Drew leaned back in her chair. “Where did Solace and that other guy head off to?”

Lou Ellen raised a brow. “You mean Cecil?”

Drew waved her hand in a disinterested manner. “Yeah, him.”

Lou Ellen frowned. “They’re grabbing some scrubs from a uniform supply store we passed earlier. They burn through those like crazy in the infirmary.”

“Hm.” Drew crossed her arms. “What did you two do, then?”

Miranda held up a couple of plastic bags, seemingly loaded down with various items. “Toiletries. The most fun part, truly. You should be thanking us.”

Nico tuned out of the conversation, watching the various people pass them by. He caught sight of a familiar tall, blonde guy and a shorter, brunette one beside him. Will and Cecil.

“You’re back!” Will beamed as he and Cecil approached the group. “Great. All we have left on the list are clothes. After that, we can head to the medical supply store across the street. We should be done after that.”

“I saw a Macy’s in here. Should be enough clothing options in there to get everything we need.” Miranda added.

Lou Ellen scrunched up her nose. “I’m never going to get used to the way you rich kids are so comfortable shopping around in department stores. I never set foot in places like that before coming to camp and going on these trips.”

“Not a rich kid. Grew up dirt poor in Texas, remember?” Will quipped. “Plus, it’s Chiron’s money, anyway. Or supposedly the camp’s money, I guess.”

“Try growing up dirt poor  _ and _ brown in  _ Minnesota _ , white boy.” Lou Ellen teased.

“Hey, no ripping on me, either. I pay my dues.” Cecil cut in. “I’ve bought you that seven dollar flavored tea drink you like so much  _ how _ many times now? And you’ve never paid me back.”

“She’s using you for your money, Cecil.” Will said, grinning. Lou Ellen threw an arm around Cecil’s shoulder, which was awkward considering how much shorter she was. “That’s what friends are for.”

━━━━━━━━━━━━

“This suits me, don’t you think?” Will asked, holding out an army green t-shirt with the words ‘ _women want me, fish fear me_ ’ inscribed upon it.

Drew looked mildly offended by the awful shirt, and Nico had to agree with her.

Lou Ellen snorted. “ _ Please _ get that.”

Will placed the shirt in the shopping basket he’d grabbed. “I’ll be the camp heartthrob.”

They wandered around the store, occasionally snatching up items they found that matched up with the camper requests. Most campers seemed to be in need of sweatshirts and warmer pants. Summer was coming to an end, after all. The requests were mostly made by demigods planning to spend the fall and winter at camp; the year-rounders, with no real home to return to.

Nico wondered what Will would be doing. He had no idea which campers were year-rounders... he hadn’t stayed at camp consistently enough to figure that out. Will had mentioned briefly that his mortal family resided in Texas, and he threw vague comments about his mortal life around here and there, but that was all he’d offered. Nico had attempted to ask him about his family once, but Will’s gaze had gone cold and he’d derailed the conversation.

Nico didn’t know what that had been about, but seeing the steely look in Will’s eye, he’d known better than to ask.

Nico didn’t want Will to leave. The son of Apollo was his friend, and friends were something he was sorely lacking. Hazel and Reyna were at Camp Jupiter. Jason was here, but he had other friends. He had Piper. Nico wouldn’t be surprised if Jason ended up forgetting about him... or if he ended up deciding Nico was too much of a burden.

It wouldn’t be the first time.

Nico was beginning to trust and find comfort in Will. It was selfish, but he didn’t want to lose that.

“Piper wrote that she needs a new hoodie. She didn’t put a color, though. Or anything else.” Lou Ellen called out, frowning. “Drew, what color do you think she’d want?”

“How should I know?” Drew snapped. Will nudged Lou Ellen with his elbow and gave her a chastening glare. Lou Ellen glared back and whispered under breath—rather loudly, since Nico could hear her—that Drew’s problems weren’t her problem.

“She had a green one. When we were traveling on the Argo ll.” Nico piped up, hoping to be helpful and diffuse the tension.

Lou Ellen threw up her hands. “Green it is, then.” She snatched an olive colored hoodie from a display table.

Nico spotted an outfit on a nearby mannequin that caught his attention. The mannequin sported a loose black shirt with a skull and a rose printed on it, a pleated black skirt, and laced up black combat boots.

He was immediately hit with a strange, guilty feeling. Like he shouldn’t be admiring the outfit. It wasn’t something he was supposed to want to wear. 

Except, he kind of liked it. It was the kind of thing he liked. The shirt was cool, and it looked good with the skirt and boots.

“That sure looks right up your alley, huh, di Angelo?” Miranda said, pointing to the mannequin. Nico jumped. He cast a wary glance at Miranda, and saw that her smile was teasing and she was hiding a laugh behind her hand. She was making fun of him. Nico stuffed his hands into his pockets.

“Okay, moving on. What’s next? Anybody need jeans? Because there’s a  shitload of jeans over there.” Drew cut in, gesturing over to, what sure enough was, an entire wall of denim.

“Yeah, yeah.” Miranda glanced at the list. “We’re gonna need a few pairs.” She walked on, followed by the others. Drew put a hand on Nico’s shoulder to stop him as the group passed in front of them. 

“Did you want that?” She asked, her dark eyes betraying no emotion.

Nico didn’t know if he was allowed to admit that he had liked the outfit. His conversation with Drew earlier made him want to believe he could, but he was nervous. He couldn’t help but worry that this would only be used against him. 

Fear won, in the end. It always seemed to.

“No. I was just... looking at it.”

Drew narrowed her eyes. “Listen, kid. You can wear whatever you want. Clothes are just clothes. It’s about what  _ you _ like.” She paused. “I could say I’m getting it for someone else.”

Nico blinked up at her. “Why would you do that?” He asked, his voice small. “Why are you being nice to me?”

Drew shrugged. “Because I feel bad for you.”

Well. Okay. Nico supposed it could be worse than that.

“What, surprised I’m not always as shallow as you though?” Drew snapped.

“I don’t think you’re shallow.” He mumbled. “Just mean.” Then, in a moment of bravery, he veered off his land with his next comment. “And I also don’t think Piper hates you as much as you think she does.”

Drew eyes widened at that. Then she  _ laughed _ .

“No one’s ever caught me off-guard like that. Well, except for Solace, but he doesn’t count. Catching people off-guard is his thing.” She placed her hands on her hips. “Didn’t think I was being so obvious there.”

It was obvious by now that Drew had issues with Piper, but not the same kind he’d heard they used to have. Drew seemed bitter, but also just lonely.

Nico wasn’t sure it was his place to speak further, so he didn’t. He wanted to say,  _ if I were you I’d want to work things out with my sister while I still could _ _,_ but he kept silent. His last moments with Bianca came to mind. They  always did. He’d been so angry with her—so upset that she was leaving. She was leaving him behind. Looking back, Nico couldn’t blame her. He regretted that their last few moments were so full of strife and anger. 

He wished he’d told her he loved her before she’d left.

Drew snatched up a skirt and shirt lying folded on the display table. “If anyone asks, and I doubt they’re going to care, then I’ll just say they’re for me.” She brushed past him, briskly trotting to catch up with the group.

━━━━━━━━━━━━

The rest of the trip had continued rather smoothly. They’d finished shopping for clothes, then promptly headed over the the medical supply store across the street. They’d ended up with several pounds of medical supplies, which was less than convenient.

Now, they needed a way to get home.

“Are we hitchhiking back?” Cecil asked Will, as he leaned against Lou Ellen as if she were an armrest. Will shook his head.

“Nah. Not a good plan now that we’ve got all this stuff.” He gestured to their plastic bags, sighing. “We’ll have to rent a car. Shouldn’t be hard to find a rental agency here in the city.”

Nico frowned. “How do we bring the car back, though?”

“We don’t.” Lou Ellen responded.

Nico nodded. Nice.

“These trips used to be a bit more controlled and coordinated.” Cecil muttered to Nico. “Chiron used to take us into the city. It was more like a chaperoned school field trip. Until Will decided to make a case for why we didn’t need him along and could handle it ourselves.”

“And he took me up on that without much convincing.” Will broke in. “And we  don’t need his help.” Cecil raised his hands in surrender.

They ended up renting a blue SUV. Will offered to drive. Nico ended up in the passenger seat next to him, while the others climbed in back.

“Nicest thing about renting instead of hitching?I’ve got control over the radio.” Will said, beaming. Nico scrunched up his nose. “If you play country, I’m walking back.”

“I’m playing country.”

“ Will .”

Will cranked up the radio as a man’s distinctly southern accent rang out in the car, singing something about Jesus and girls and guns. “This is my favorite song.” Will deadpanned. 

The other passengers collectively groaned. 

“I’m  _ joking _ . Man, none of y’all are any fun.” Will switched to another station. 

“ _ Y’all _ ?” Drew questioned. Will ignored her.

Nico gazed out the window, watching the various people, cars, and buildings pass by as they drove out of the city. The cityscape turned to a forest—green and luscious from the kind summer. He leaned his head against the window, the soft music from the radio (now some gentle song Nico did not recognize) lulling him. He drifted off to sleep.

He woke slowly to the sound of hushed voices.

“Will, he’s going to kill you. Just wake him up.”

“He needs the rest!”

“So you’re going to carry him all the way back to camp?”

“He weighs 100 pounds. I carry twice his weight on a daily basis. Plus, do  you want to wake him up? Because that’s actually more likely to get you killed.”

Nico stirred and tried to blink his bleary eyes open. Suddenly he was aware that he was not in a car nor lying on the ground; rather he was bundled up in strong arms. He struggled.

“You’re awake!” Nico’s head snapped up to see Will’s blue eyes sparkling down at him. “Dude, you were  _ out _ .”

Nico was still tired and felt very warm. Will was like a natural heater. He was almost tempted to see if Will would just carry him back to camp regardless. Then he wouldn’t have to move.

“I  _ can _ walk, you know.” He mumbled. Will grinned and helped him down onto his feet.

“I  _ was _ going to take you to your cabin and let you continue to sleep, but now you get to help us carry all these bags.”

Nico groaned.

They’d driven to the same spot on the little road in the woods where they’d been picked up by Mia on their way into New York City. The rental car was parked on the shoulder of the road, left for some random soul to find and for the rental agency to wonder about.

The car had been unloaded, the shopping bags laid out of the ground. Each demigod loaded up with as many bags as they could carry. Then, they trudged through woods back to camp. It was a treacherous half-mile.

The group finally arrived at camp and plopped the bags down in the Big House. Will checked in with Chiron briefly, letting him know that the trip went well and nobody was injured. 

“Later we’ll have to pass all this junk out. Our work for today, however, is done.” Cecil cracked his knuckles. “I’m going for a swim in the lake.”

“Count me in.” Will chirped, his face brightening.

Lou Ellen shook her head. “I was going to meet up with Kayla. She’s gonna teach me archery. Or she’s going to  _ try _ .”

“You and Kayla hang out?” Will asked, looking mildly horrified.

Lou Ellen stuck out her tongue. “Only sometimes. You worried she’s going to give me dirt on you?”

“ Terrified .” Will said. Lou Ellen rolled her eyes.

Will turned to Nico. “Nico? Drew? You guys want to come?”

Drew shook her head. “No. Not in the mood.”

Nico had to agree with her. Plus, he couldn’t swim. “I don’t like water.”He stated bluntly.

Will looked like he was holding back a laugh. “How could I forget?” 

Nico was transported back to several nights ago, when Will had attempted to teach him to swim. That experience had been the dictionary definition of a failure. Nico bristled, but didn’t acknowledge Will’s taunt. 

“Have fun splashing around in your puddle.” He said instead. Will just rolled his eyes and gestured for Cecil to follow him.

Nico was left alone with Drew, who pulled a bundle of black clothes from the plastic bag nearest to her. 

“Here.” She shoved the black shirt and skirt into Nico’s chest, causing him to make a small ‘oof’. 

“Do with that what you will. I’m not looking out for your puny ass anymore, di Angelo. That was a today-only thing. Figure yourself out, okay?” She flipped her silky dark hair over her shoulder and left the Big House. 

Somehow, her words didn’t seem to carry any venom.

Nico hurried to his cabin, neatly folding the clothes and placing them in his dresser. He wasn’t sure if he’d ever be able to wear it... but Drew had gotten it for him. She hadn’t thought it was weird. Most of all, she’d understood his discomfort and respected it. It left a warm feeling in his chest.

He collapsed back on his bed, smiling slightly to himself. Suddenly, the air above him began to shimmer and take a semi-solid form. He was startled briefly, before he recognized the familiar coily black hair and dark eyes. His smile brightened. 

“Hi, Hazel.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok about this chapter: nico says fuck gender roles babey!! one of my personal fave headcanons is that nicos nonbinary. i’m nonbinary as well (she/they if u wanna know) and i just wanted to experiment with him sorta... discovering new ways to express himself and think about gender. this isn’t going to be a major plot point, but it’s just something i wanted to include. i dont think nico would like conforming to gender stereotypes/roles and would be most comfortable presenting himself in a fairly androgynous way :)
> 
> ALSO ALSO: where am i planning on taking this fic? the beginning is going to be largely developing will and nico’s relationship with each other and the important people around them (at camp, for now). later on i plan on delving into will’s backstory (which i’ve been providing snippets of!) and also they’re going to go on a quest duh. it’s going to be my own interpretation of the prophecy rachel gave them at the end of tower of nero. after that, i think i wanna get into what their lives will look like when they’re in college, and maybe even beyond that.
> 
> i’m on tumblr @gayleafpool if u wanna talk/share ideas/anything really! i post my art there and it’s pretty much all pjo


End file.
